Assessment and Management of Watershed Microbial Contaminants

Abstract

Numerous sources of infectious disease causing microorganisms exist in watersheds and can impact recreational and drinking water quality. Organisms of concern include bacteria, viruses, and parasites. The watershed manager is challenged to limit human contact with pathogens, limit the numbers of pathogens reaching surface or groundwaters, and limit the pathogens reaching crops eaten raw to levels below those needed to cause infection. Therefore, the goal of the National Risk Management Research Laboratory's (NRMRL) watershed pathogens research program is to develop optimum solutions for managing the complex problem of watershed microbial contamination and thus support watershed managers' decision making. It supports the Agency's Strategy for Waterborne Microbial Disease Control by addressing contamination sources, named in the strategy as one of the highest priority approaches to water protection. This paper summarizes the current state of the knowledge on the sources and impacts of microbial pathogens in the watershed and discusses challenges to their successful management, research underway to resolve them, and research that is planned by the NRMRL.