Abstract
Recreational bathing waters are complex systems with diverse inputs from multiple anthropogenic and zoogenic sources of faecal contamination. Faecal contamination is a substantial threat to water quality and public health. Here we present a comprehensive strategy to estimate the contribution of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB) from different biological sources on two at-risk beaches in Dublin, Ireland. The daily FIB loading rate was determined for three sources of contamination: a sewage-impacted urban stream, dog and wild bird fouling. This comparative analysis determined that the stream contributed the highest daily levels of FIB, followed by dog fouling. Dog fouling may be a significant source of FIB, contributing approximately 20% of E. coli under certain conditions, whereas wild bird fouling contributed a negligible proportion of FIB (<3%). This study demonstrates that source-specific quantitative microbial source apportionment (QMSA) strategies are vital to identify primary public health risks and target interventions to mitigate faecal contamination.
Published Version
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