Health Effects Criteria for Fresh Recreational Waters

A criterion for the quality of the bathing water, based upon swimming-associated gastrointestinal illness, was developed from data obtained during a multi-year freshwater epidemiological-microbiological research program conducted at bathing beaches near Erie. Pennsylvania and Tulsa, Oklahoma. Three bacterial indicators of fecal pollution were used to measure the water quality. E. coli, enterococci and fecal coliforms. A good correlation was observed between swimming-associated gastrointestinal symptoms and either E. coli or enterococci densities in the water. Fecal coliform densities showed little or no correlation to gastrointestinal illness rates in swimmers. In general, high gastrointestinal illness rates were associated with high densities of fecal indicator bacteria. A comparison of the freshwater results with the results obtained from studies at marine bathing beaches indicated that a separate criterion should be used with each type of bathing water.

Publisher - U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA)

Subjects - Water Quality; Human Health; Bacteria, E. Coli; Bacteria, Enterococci; Bacteria, Fecal Coliform

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Citation: Dufour AP. 1984. Health Effects Criteria for Fresh Recreational Waters. Washington (DC): U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA); EPA 600/1-84-004. 33 pp http://www.epa.gov/nerlcwww/frc.pdf