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Recreational Disturbance of River Sediments During Base Flow Deteriorates Microbial Water Quality

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Abstract

Recreational water quality of rivers is typically assessed by microbial analysis of indicator organisms, such as Escherichia coli and enterococci in samples collected directly from the water column, implying that risk to public health comes from free-floating microorganisms. In New Zealand, the Recreational Water Quality Guidelines apply certain E. coli concentration thresholds to categorize results into ‘meet guidelines’ (≤ 260 cfu E. coli 100 mL−1), ‘alert level’, and ‘action level’ (≥ 550 cfu E. coli 100 mL−1). The impairment of water quality due to re-suspended riverbed sediment under flood conditions has been widely recognized. However, the potential risks posed by sediment-linked microorganisms associated with river recreational activities under base flow are less appreciated. We evaluated the water quality of 30 rivers in Canterbury, New Zealand, during base flow conditions prior to and after artificially stirring the sediment. Bacterial and protozoan indicators, pathogens, water quality, and land use in surrounding areas were examined. While 71% of water samples (n = 64) met New Zealand Recreational Water guidelines prior to stirring, only 39% of samples (n = 35) met the guidelines after stirring. E. coli levels increased by 110%, or more, following sediment stirring. Campylobacter were detected in every river, at least once, and increases were observed following stirring. We conclude that sediment-associated microbes become suspended by recreational activities and may pose a higher risk than previously thought to river users. To ensure public health is protected, authorities should assess microorganisms in both sediment and water samples to rate the microbiological risk of recreational water use.

Highlights

  • River sediment can contain substantial levels of indicator bacteria.

  • Sediments may also contain pathogens including Campylobacter and Cryptosporidium.

  • Stirring up sediment during recreational activities may present increased public health risk.

  • Both water and sediment should be analyzed to fully assess microbial water quality.

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Data availability

The authors declare that the data supporting the findings of this study are available within the paper, its supplementary information files, and on request from the authors.

Abbreviations

cfu:

Colony forming unit

GIS:

Geographic information system

MPN:

Most probable number

TSS:

Total suspended solids

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to thank staff at ESR, in particular Margaret Mackenzie for laboratory technical assistance, Dr David Wood for statistical advice and assistance, Dr Craig Billington, Dr Beverley Horn, and Dr Joanne Kingsbury for providing valuable comments.

Funding

This work was funded by Ministry of Business, Innovation and Employment under Contract No. C10X1006.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Environmental Science and Research, P. O. Box 29–181, Christchurch, New Zealand

    Isabelle Pattis, Elaine Moriarty, Juliet Anderson & Brent Gilpin

  2. School of Biological Sciences, University of Canterbury, Private Bag 4800, Christchurch, 8140, New Zealand

    Angus McIntosh

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  1. Isabelle Pattis
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Correspondence to Brent Gilpin.

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Supplementary Information

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41742_2023_557_MOESM1_ESM.docx

Supplementary file1 Detailed information of each sampling site is provided in Table S1 in the supplemental material, including the sediment composition of all 30 rivers and the land use in the immediate vicinity of each sampling site (within a 1 km radius), determined using ArcGIS (DOCX 29 KB)

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Pattis, I., Moriarty, E., Anderson, J. et al. Recreational Disturbance of River Sediments During Base Flow Deteriorates Microbial Water Quality. Int J Environ Res 18, 6 (2024). https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-023-00557-3

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-023-00557-3

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