Timeline: October 2007 through April 2008
Client: California Department of Transportation (Caltrans)
Study Locations: Highway 1 (also SR-1) along Santa Monica Bay (California)
Role: PM/Lab Manager
Objectives:
Using the environmental toolkit, which was previously developed in the Dr. Wuertz Laboratory of the Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering at University of California, Davis, the main goal of the monitoring study was to provide information about the extent of fecal pollution of stormwater representing non-commingled Caltrans highway runoff before it enters Santa Monica Bay within Jurisdiction 1 to 6 of the Santa Monica Bay Beaches Bacteria TMDLs. It is well known that traditional fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) tests for E. coli, fecal coliforms and enterococci can overestimate recent microbial pollution due to the ability of indicator organisms to survive and even multiply in environmental niches. In addition, the detection of human pathogens rarely correlates with the abundance of FIB in recreational waters. To address these concerns, microbial source tracking (MST) assays developed and validated previously were chosen to identify animal- or human-specific contributions. In addition, several molecular assays that target human viruses directly were applied to relate source tracking information to the presence of actual human pathogens. All samples were filtered and analyzed for the presence of human adenoviruses and enteroviruses as well as for host-specific genetic markers indicative of fecal pollution from cow-, dog-, or human fecal pollution or any fecal source of warm-blooded animals (universal marker). Traditional fecal indicator bacteria (FIB) measurements were performed side by side on each stormwater sample.
Report:
Schriewer A. and Wuertz, S. (2009). Santa Monica Bay Microbial Source Tracking Study, 2007-2008 Monitoring Season. Final report prepared for the Environmental Division of California Department of Transportation. Document #: CTSW-RT-09-168-23.1