Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States
Many countries including EU Member States (EUMS) and the United States (U.S.) regularly monitor the microbial quality of bathing water to protect public health. This study comprehensively evaluates the EU bathing water directive (BWD) and the U.S. recreational water quality criteria (RWQC) as regula...
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doaj-a220b9347b88438cbae2bc50c06e0b9c2021-06-01T00:41:32ZengMDPI AGInternational Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health1661-78271660-46012021-05-01185513551310.3390/ijerph18115513Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United StatesAnanda Tiwari0David M. Oliver1Aaron Bivins2Samendra P. Sherchan3Tarja Pitkänen4Expert Microbiology Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, FI-70701 Kuopio, FinlandBiological and Environmental Sciences, University of Stirling, Stirling FK9 4LA, UKDepartment of Civil & Environmental Engineering & Earth Science, University of Notre Dame, 156 Fitzpatrick Hall, Notre Dame, IN 46556, USADepartment of Environmental Health Sciences, Tulane University, 1440 Canal Street, New Orleans, LA 70112, USAExpert Microbiology Unit, Finnish Institute for Health and Welfare, P.O. Box 95, FI-70701 Kuopio, FinlandMany countries including EU Member States (EUMS) and the United States (U.S.) regularly monitor the microbial quality of bathing water to protect public health. This study comprehensively evaluates the EU bathing water directive (BWD) and the U.S. recreational water quality criteria (RWQC) as regulatory frameworks for monitoring microbial quality of bathing water. The major differences between these two regulatory frameworks are the provision of bathing water profiles, classification of bathing sites based on the pollution level, variations in the sampling frequency, accepted probable illness risk, epidemiological studies conducted during the development of guideline values, and monitoring methods. There are also similarities between the two approaches given that both enumerate viable fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) as an index of the potential risk to human health in bathing water and accept such risk up to a certain level. However, enumeration of FIB using methods outlined within these current regulatory frameworks does not consider the source of contamination nor variation in inactivation rates of enteric microbes in different ecological contexts, which is dependent on factors such as temperature, solar radiation, and salinity in various climatic regions within their geographical areas. A comprehensive “tool-box approach”, i.e., coupling of FIB and viral pathogen indicators with microbial source tracking for regulatory purposes, offers potential for delivering improved understanding to better protect the health of bathers.https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5513bathing and recreational watermicrobial qualitytool-box-approachbathing water directiverecreational water quality criteria |
collection |
DOAJ |
language |
English |
format |
Article |
sources |
DOAJ |
author |
Ananda Tiwari David M. Oliver Aaron Bivins Samendra P. Sherchan Tarja Pitkänen |
spellingShingle |
Ananda Tiwari David M. Oliver Aaron Bivins Samendra P. Sherchan Tarja Pitkänen Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health bathing and recreational water microbial quality tool-box-approach bathing water directive recreational water quality criteria |
author_facet |
Ananda Tiwari David M. Oliver Aaron Bivins Samendra P. Sherchan Tarja Pitkänen |
author_sort |
Ananda Tiwari |
title |
Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States |
title_short |
Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States |
title_full |
Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States |
title_fullStr |
Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States |
title_full_unstemmed |
Bathing Water Quality Monitoring Practices in Europe and the United States |
title_sort |
bathing water quality monitoring practices in europe and the united states |
publisher |
MDPI AG |
series |
International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health |
issn |
1661-7827 1660-4601 |
publishDate |
2021-05-01 |
description |
Many countries including EU Member States (EUMS) and the United States (U.S.) regularly monitor the microbial quality of bathing water to protect public health. This study comprehensively evaluates the EU bathing water directive (BWD) and the U.S. recreational water quality criteria (RWQC) as regulatory frameworks for monitoring microbial quality of bathing water. The major differences between these two regulatory frameworks are the provision of bathing water profiles, classification of bathing sites based on the pollution level, variations in the sampling frequency, accepted probable illness risk, epidemiological studies conducted during the development of guideline values, and monitoring methods. There are also similarities between the two approaches given that both enumerate viable fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) as an index of the potential risk to human health in bathing water and accept such risk up to a certain level. However, enumeration of FIB using methods outlined within these current regulatory frameworks does not consider the source of contamination nor variation in inactivation rates of enteric microbes in different ecological contexts, which is dependent on factors such as temperature, solar radiation, and salinity in various climatic regions within their geographical areas. A comprehensive “tool-box approach”, i.e., coupling of FIB and viral pathogen indicators with microbial source tracking for regulatory purposes, offers potential for delivering improved understanding to better protect the health of bathers. |
topic |
bathing and recreational water microbial quality tool-box-approach bathing water directive recreational water quality criteria |
url |
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/18/11/5513 |
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