Wave energy level and geographic setting correlate with Florida beach water quality

Zhixuan Feng; Ad Reniers; Brian K Haus; Helena M Solo-Gabriele; Elizabeth A Kelly

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.02.011

Wave energy level and geographic setting correlate with Florida beach water quality

Mar Pollut Bull. 2016 Mar 15;104(1-2):54-60. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.02.011. Epub 2016 Feb 15.

Authors

Zhixuan Feng¹, Ad Reniers², Brian K Haus³, Helena M Solo-Gabriele⁴, Elizabeth A Kelly⁵

Affiliations

¹ Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; NSF NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; Biology Department, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Woods Hole, MA 02543, USA. Electronic address: zfeng@whoi.edu.
² Department of Hydraulic Engineering, Environmental Fluid Mechanics Section, Delft University of Technology, Stevinweg 1, 2628CN Delft, The Netherlands.
³ Department of Ocean Sciences, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; NSF NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA.
⁴ NSF NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, College of Engineering, 1251 Memorial Drive, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA.
⁵ NSF NIEHS Oceans and Human Health Center, Rosenstiel School of Marine and Atmospheric Science, University of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Causeway, Miami, FL 33149, USA; Leonard and Jayne Abess Center for Ecosystem Science and Policy, University of Miami, Coral Gables, FL 33146, USA.

Abstract

Many recreational beaches suffer from elevated levels of microorganisms, resulting in beach advisories and closures due to lack of compliance with Environmental Protection Agency guidelines. We conducted the first statewide beach water quality assessment by analyzing decadal records of fecal indicator bacteria (enterococci and fecal coliform) levels at 262 Florida beaches. The objectives were to depict synoptic patterns of beach water quality exceedance along the entire Florida shoreline and to evaluate their relationships with wave condition and geographic location. Percent exceedances based on enterococci and fecal coliform were negatively correlated with both long-term mean wave energy and beach slope. Also, Gulf of Mexico beaches exceeded the thresholds significantly more than Atlantic Ocean ones, perhaps partially due to the lower wave energy. A possible linkage between wave energy level and water quality is beach sand, a pervasive nonpoint source that tends to harbor more bacteria in the low-wave-energy environment.

Keywords: Enterococci; Exceedance; Fecal coliform; Recreational beaches; Water quality; Wave energy level.

Publication types

Research Support, N.I.H., Extramural
Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

Atlantic Ocean
Bacteria
Bathing Beaches*
Enterococcus
Feces / microbiology
Florida
Mexico
Recreation
Seawater / microbiology*
United States
Water Microbiology*
Water Quality / standards*

Abstract

Publication types

MeSH terms

Grants and funding