Abstract
Enterococci concentration variability at Escambron Beach, San Juan, Puerto Rico, was examined in the context of environmental conditions observed during 2005–2015. Satellite-derived sea surface temperature (SST), turbidity, direct normal irradiance, and dew point were combined with local precipitation, winds, and mean sea level (MSL) observations in a stepwise multiple regression analyses (Akaike Information Criteria model selection). Precipitation, MSL, irradiance, SST, and turbidity explained 20% of the variation in observed enterococci concentrations based upon these analyses. Changes in these parameters preceded increases in enterococci concentrations by 24 h up to 11 days, particularly during positive anomalies of turbidity, SST, and 480–960 mm of accumulated (4 days) precipitation, which relates to bacterial ecology. Weaker, yet still significant, increases in enterococci concentrations were also observed during positive dew point anomalies. Enterococci concentrations decreased with elevated irradiance and MSL anomalies. Unsafe enterococci concentrations per US EPA recreational water quality guidelines occurred when 4-day cumulative precipitation ranged 481–960 mm; irradiance < 667 W·m−2; daily average turbidity anomaly >0.005 sr−1; SST anomaly >0.8 °C; and 3-day average MSL anomaly <−18.8 cm. This case study shows that satellite-derived environmental data can be used to inform future water quality studies and protect human health.
Highlights
Fecal pollution is a threat to coastal ecosystems in many countries around the world that carries important public health and economic consequences
The stepwise AIC analyses showed that precipitation, mean sea level (MSL), direct normal irradiance (DNI), sea surface temperature (SST), and turbidity were the optimal explanatory variables for culturable enterococci concentrations in Escambron Beach surface waters during 2005–2015 (p < 0.05; r2 = 0.20; Table 2); dew point was not identified as an optimal explanatory variable by the AIC analyses
While future research is needed to identify if enterococci correlate with human health risks, this study provides an overview of how long-term data can be used to understand the most influential environmental variables on culturable enterococci concentrations and sets the stage for future investigations to distinguish the cause of high enterococci concentrations
Summary
Fecal pollution is a threat to coastal ecosystems in many countries around the world that carries important public health and economic consequences. The city of San Juan, the capital of the island of Puerto Rico in the Caribbean Sea, is located within the Rio Piedras watershed, which receives the discharge of two centralized wastewater treatment plants (WWTPs; Puerto Nuevo Regional and Bayamon Regional WWTPs). While 56% of the Puerto Rican population is connected to these sewer systems [4,5], the remaining population, especially those located at higher elevations in San Juan, typically uses septic tanks. Inadequate wastewater treatment prior to ocean outfall discharge, ineffective and old stormwater systems, and septic systems that leak into the karst geology and streams in the region are a constant and
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