# Microbiological Water Quality Guidelines for Marine and Freshwater Recreational AreasPublish ed in Jun e 200 2 by the Ministry for th e Environme n t Manatu Mo T e Taiao PO Box 10-362, Wellington, New Z ealand Upd a ted in June 20 03
ISBN: 0-478 -2409 1-0 ME numbe r: 474
This do cu me nt is available under p ubli c ations o n the Ministry for th e Environme n t’s we bsite: www.mfe.gov t.nz

## Ho w to Use This Folder

Th i s fo ld er is d i v i d e d in to th r e e ma i n p a r t s :

• Pa rt I g i v e s t h e fram ework for m o n i t o ri ng recreati onal water quality

• Pa rt I I provi d es t h e gui d eli n e val u es for m a ri ne, fres hwat er a nd s h ell f is h gat h e r i n g

• Pa rt I I I prov i d es exp l anat o r y no tes, wh ich exp a nd on t h e i n fo r m ation giv e n i n Par t s I and II , and g i ve advi ce on how t o im plem e n t the gui d el i n es

. Par t s I and II ar e d i v i d e d i n t o secti o n s , lab e l l ed A t o F. Throughou t t h ese secti o n s t h ere are d i r e cti o n s t o t h e exp l an at or y notes i n Par tI II. Pl ease fo ll ow up t h es e d i rect ions i f y o u need m o re i n for m ation on a t o p i c.
Par t III is d i v i d e d in to two section s , G and H , a nd prov ide no tes on Par t s I and I I r e sp ectively.
Th e Ap pe ndi c e s fo ll ow i ng Par tII I con t ai n m o r e ex tended p i eces of add i tion a l i n for m ation, i n cl ud i n g a progr amm e for public edu c at ion and aw aren ess, and a d e scr i p t i on of t h e r e search background t o how t h e gu i d eli n es h a ve evo l ved

. A Gl oss a r y prov i d es d e f i n iti on s for abbr eviations and term s u s ed i n t h e gu i d eli n es, som e of wh i c h ar e h i gh ly technical.
For t hose rea d ers wa nti n g t o acce ss furt he r inform ation from doc um ents re fe re nce d i n the s e gui d eli n es , t h e Re fere nc es and Fur t her Re ading c o nt ai ns a us ef ul s u m m ary

. Th e st ru ct ur e of t h is fo l d er en ab l e s t h e Mi nistr y for t h e Env i ron m en t and Mi n i st r y of H e alt h t o provid e upd a t e s on a re gu lar ba s i s

. P l e a s e co mp lete th e for m a t th e b ack to r e g i s t er your cop y w i th th e Min i str y for th e Env i ron m en t

. Th is w ill en sure updates are sen t t o t h e appropriat e person w i t h i n y our o r gan i sati on.

# Foreword New Zealand e rs care abo u t t

h e qu ality o f t

h eir waters. We wan t to swim an dco llect k a i mo an a at
ou r beac hes an d ri ver s wi th o u t th e ri s k of gett i ng sick. Thousands of us use our beaches and rivers to swim , surf, sail, an d co llect k a i m o an a, and we h i gh ly v a lue the ab ility to do t h is.
The Microb io lo g i ca l Wa ter Qua lity Gu id el in es fo r Mari ne a n d Fr eshw at er Recr eational Ar eas incorporate a ri sk-base d a p pr o ach t o m oni t o ri ng water qu ality p r o m o t edb y th e Wo rl dHealth Org an i zatio n

. Th e gu id elin es will prov id e co un cils with t h e info rm atio n th ey n e edt o m o n ito r the state of t h eir waters.
These guidelines are t h e resul t of a wide
co nsu ltativ e effort. Ex ten s iv e con s u ltatio n with reg i o n a l cou n c ils, territo rial l o cal au t h orities and public healt h a g encies sin ce t h e release of t h e 1999 g u i d e lin es resultedin the formatio n of a work i n g gr o up

. T h e M i ni st ry f o r

t h e E nvi ro nm ent an d M i ni stry of He al th ha ve bee n wo rki n g wi t h t h i s g r oup ov er th e 2 000 –03 p e r i odto d e v e lop gui dance o n p u b l i c heal th m oni t o ri ng an d reporting, and state of t h e environ m en t m o n ito ring
an d r e po r ting

. We h a v e d e li berately form at t e dth e gu id eli n es so th ey can b e easily rev i sedwit h ou t requ iring a co m p lete re-pub licatio n o f th e en tire gu id elines. If you woul d like to receive updates of these g u i d e lin es, p l ease co m p lete an d ret u rn th e reg i stration fo rm a t

th e b a ck of th e fo ld er. Yo u can also d o wn lo ad th e m o st up -t o - d a te ed ition o f the guideli n es from the publi cations ar ea of the M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent ’ s websi t e :
ww w.m f e.g o v t.nz.

FO REWORD
. June 2003 

### vWe wo ul d l i k e t o th an k eve ry one w h o has b een in vo lv edin th e d e v e lop m en t o f th e gu id elines and ack now ledg e t h at w ithou t you r inp u t it w ouldno t h a v e b e en po ssib le. W e l o ok f o rw ardto your
co n tinu i ng contrib u tion i n th e fu tu re.

Barry Carbo n Ch ief Ex ecu tive M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent

Kare n O P o uta s i (D r) Director-Ge n eral of Health M i ni stry of He al th

FO REWORD
. June 2003 

### vi

# Acknowledgements Thi s doc um ent has bee n pr o d u ced an d f u n d e dby th e M i ni st ry f o r t h e En vi r o nm ent an d t h e M i ni st ry of Health. We would like to t h ank t h e m e mbers of t h e M a ri ne B a t h i n g Wo r k i n g Gr ou p f o r t h ei r co n t r i bu tio n s t o th e pr ep ar ati o n of t

h is do cumen t:
Do nal d C a m pbel l Heal t h care Tar a naki Keith Ham i ll (f orm e rly ) En v i ro nm ent So ut hl an d Peter Ham i ll M a rlbo r o u g h District Co un cil So phi e Hei g h w ay (f orm e rl y ) N o rt h S h o r e C i ty C ounci l A n d r ea Jo hn son Can t er bury Cro w n Pub lic Health Erin Kearn e y Valley Health Gillian Lewis Au ck landReg i o n a l Forum Sha u n Le wis Earth m a tters G r ah a m Mc Br i d e N I W A Adri anM e re di th En vi ro nm ent C a nt er bu ry Step h e n Palm e r Hu tt Valley Health Paul P r e nde rga s t M i ni st ry of He al th Grah am Sevi cke-J o nes Wel l i ngt onR e gi o n al Co un cil B r i a n S h ar m a n M e tr owat e r Ren n a e Sh irley Au ck landCity Co un cil Brett Stan sfiel d Hawk e’s Bay Reg i on al Co un cil Desm o n d Till Co n s u ltan t

ACKNOWLE DG EM ENTS
. June 2003 

### vii

# Contents

Foreword v 

## Acknowledgements v ii


## Introducti on 1 Ho w d o th e s e gui del i n es di f f e r f r o m previ o us on es ? 1 What is the ai m of the gui delines ? 2 What is the sta t us of t h ese guidelines ? 2 What does t h is docum e nt cover ? 2 St at e of th e e n vi r onm ent re po rt i n g an d l i n ks wi t h th e E nvi r onm ent a l Per f o r m a nce In di cat ors Pr o g ram m e 3 Co nd itio n s on th e use o f t

h es e guidelines 3


## Part I: The Fram e work for Moni toring Recreational Water Quality A1 SECTI O N A: Why M o nitor Water ? A1 A. 1 Health risks A1 A. 2 St at e of th e e n vi r onm ent re po rt i n g A2 SECTION B: Who M o n ito rs an d Repo rts ? B1 B.1 Ro les and respo n s i b ilities B1 B.2 Reco mmen d e d fram e work fo r ro les and respo n s i b ilities B1 B.3 Reg i on al pr o t oco l s B2 B.4 Abating t h e nuisance B3 B.5 Leg a l im p licati o n s B3 

## Part II: Guidelines for Recreational Water Quality C1 SECTI O N C: Ho w D o We D e velo p Gui d eline Values ? C1 C.1 The overall a p proac h C1 C.2 The fram e wor k C2 SEC T I O N D: M i crobi ol o g i c al Gui d elin es fo r Mar i n e W a ter s D 1 D. 1 Desi g n at i o n of a co nt a c t r e cr ea tio n ar e a D 1 D. 2 Sam p l i ng beac h wat e r D1 D. 3 Gra d in g a beac h D2 D.4 Mo n itored b e ach e s: su rv eillan ce, alert andactio n m o d e s D7 D.5 Marin e b a th i n g surv eillan c e, alert andaction lev e ls D8 D. 6 C o n d i t i ons o f usi n g t h e gui de l i n es D9

CO NTENTS
. June 2003 

### viiiSEC T I O N E: M i crobi ol o g i c al Gu id elin es fo r Fr es hwaters E 1 E.1 Designation of a contact rec r e a tion ar ea E1 E.2 Sam p l i ng ri ve r s an d l a kes E1 E

. 3 G r ad ing a fr e s h w a t er s ite E 2 E.4 Mo n itored b e ach e s: su rv eillan ce, alert andactio n m o d e s E8 E.5 Fresh w ater su rv eillan ce, alert an d actio n lev e ls E8 E.6 C o n d i t i ons o f usi n g t h e gui de l i n es E1 0 SECTION F: Microbi ologic al Gui d elines fo r Shellfish

- Gath ering Waters F1 F.1 The pre f er

re d i ndicato r fo r wa ters used fo r shellfish g a t h eri ng F1 F.2 Recreatio n a l sh ellfish-g a t h eri n g gu id eline valu es F1 

## Part III: Explanatory Notes to the Guidelines G 1 SECTION G: NOTES TO PART I: Th e Fra m ewo r k for Mo n itoring Recreatio n a l Wat e r Qu ality G1 No te G(i): Resp iratory illn ess G1 No te G(ii): Exa m p l es o f h ealt h risk s G2 No te G(iii): State o f th e Env i ron m en t Rep o rtin g G3 No te G(iv ): Pressu re-State-R espo n s e m o d e l G3 No te G(v): In t e g r ating pu b lic h ealth andstat e of th e env i ron m en t d a ta G4 Not e G ( vi ): M e rgi n g wi th exi s t i ng m i crobi ol ogi cal pr o g ramm es G4 No te G(v ii): Differen t ro les an d respo n s i b ilities ad op ted aro und New Zealan d G6 No te G(v iii): Th e leg i slativ e basis fo r t h e Mi n i stry’s reco mmen d a tio ns G7 No te G(ix ): Leg a l op in i o n on ro les andrespon sib ilities G9 Not e G ( x ) : T h e A nna p o l i s Pr ot oc ol G9 SECTION H: NOTES TO PART II: Gu i d elin es fo r Recreatio n a l Water Qu ality H1 No te H(i): Sam p l i n g tim es a n d p e riod s H1 No te H(ii): Tech n i q u e s for tak i ng an d an aly s in g sam p les H3 No te H(iii): Estab lish i ng a San itary In sp ectio n Catego ry (SIC) H5 No te H(iv ): Catch m en t Assessm e n t Ch eck list (CAC) f o r

m a rine recreatio n a l waters H7 No te H(v): Microb io l o g i cal Assessm en t Categ o ry (M AC) fo r m a rine rec r eational w a ters H1 2 No te H(v i ): Suitab ility fo r recreatio n gr ade fo r m a rin e recreatio n a l waters H12 No te H(v ii): C a tch m en t Assessm en t Ch eck list for freshwater recreation a l areas H15 No te H(v iii): Micro b i o l og ical Assessm en t Cate g o ry fo r fresh w ater recreatio n a l areas H19 No te H(ix ): Suitab ility fo r recreatio n grad e fo r freshwater recreatio n a l areas H20 No te H(x): App licatio n o f grad es andsing le sam p les H21 Not e H ( xi ): I n t e ri m gradi n g H2 2 No te H(x ii): M o d i fyin g b each grad es H22 No te H(x iii): Percen tile gu id elin e v a lues fo r seawater (WHO 2 001 ) andfresh w ater H24 Not e H ( xi v): D e ri vat i o n of al ert an d act i o n l e vel s f o r seaw at er an d f

r esh w a t er H2 7 Note H(xv): State of the e n vir onm ent analysis and reporting H27 No te H(xv i): R e p o rting to th e p u b lic H28 Note H(xvii): Managem e nt responses to exceedanc e s for marine and fre shwate r H28

CO NTENTS
. June 2003 

### ix

## Section I: Appendices App e n d i x 1 : Pu b lic Edu cation an d Awaren ess Prog ramm e Ou tlin e I1 Ap pe ndi x 2: D e vel o pi n g t h e Gui d el i n es I9 Ap pe ndi x 3: Si gns I2 3 Ap pe ndi x 4: C a se St u d y – Im pl em ent i ng th e M a ri ne an d F r eshw at er Gui d el i n es I2 5 Ap pe ndi x 5: F act Sheet s I3 1


## Abbreviations J1 

## Glossary J2


## Refer ences and Further Reading J 6 

## About the Ministry for the Environm ent J 3 0 

## Registration Form J31

CO NTENTS
. June 2003 

### x

# Tables

Tabl e D1: M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory de fi n i t i ons f o r m a ri ne wat e rs D6 Tab l e D2 : Su itab ility for recreation g r ade fo r m a rin e sit e s D7 Tab l e E1 : Micro b i o l og ical Assessm en t Categ o ry (MAC) d e fin ition s E6 Tab l e E2 : Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e for freshwater sites E7 Tab l e G1 : Bath in g-related illn esses, sy m p to m s an dp a th og ens, with relev a n t references G2 Tab l e H1 : Gu i d elin e v a lues fo r m i cro b i olo g i cal qu ality o f m a rin e recreatio n a l waters H25 Tab l e H2 : Gu i d elin e v a lues fo r m i cro b i olo g i cal qu ality o f freshwater recreatio n a l wat e rs H26 Tab l e I1 : Ex am p l e o f com p le tedCatchmen t Assessm en t Ch eck list I26 Tabl e I 2 : Exam pl e of a c o m p l e t e d C a t c hm ent Assess m e nt C h eckl i s t I2 8



# Figures

Figure C 1 : Surveillance re qui re m e nts for gra d e dbeaches C3 Fig u re D1 : Recreatio n a l water-qu a lity d e cisio n tree D3 Fig u re E1 : Recreatio n a l water-qu a lity d e cisio n tree (dup licated ) E3 Fi gu re H 1 : Exam pl e of a p r o p o sed sam p l i ng st rat e gy (m ari n e wat e rs ) H2 Fig u re H2 : San itary In sp ectio n Category flow ch art fo r marin e recreatio n a l waters H11 Fig u re H3 : San itary In sp ectio n Category fo r freshwater sites H19

CO NTENTS
. June 2003 

### xi

# Introduction New Zealand’s coastal waters are widely use dfor
a ran g e of recreatio n a l activ ities, su ch as b a th ing , sailin g , bo ating , v ariou s forms of su rfing , water ski i n g, u nde rw at er di vi n g an d shel l f i s h gat h e r i n g. Main tain in g and p r o t ectin g the qu ality o f t

h is recreation a l water is th erefo r e an im p o r tan t envi ro nm ent a l heal t h an d res o urce m a nagem e nt issue.



## How do these guidelines differ from previous ones?

In th e p a st, gu id elin es for assessin g th e pu b l ic h ealth risk of usin g recreatio nal waters h a v e b een largely base d on m i crobi ol ogi cal faecal indicator
co un ts. Th e p r ev iou s ( 199 9) mar i n e b a t h ing gui del i n es (Recrea tion a l Wa te r Qu a lity Gu i d elin es ) we re devel ope d u s i n g th e res u l t s o f international an d Ne w Zealand st udies, and after
co nsu ltatio n wi th reg i on al an d lo cal env i ronmen tal and health a g e n cies. The guidelines presente d he re m ove away from the sole use of gui d eline values of faecal i n dicator bacteria, an d instead use a c o m b ination of a q u a litativ e ri sk

gradi n g of t h e catchm e nt,
suppo r t edb y th e di rect me as urem ent of ap

pr op ri at e f a ecal i n di cato rs to asse ss the
su itab ility o f a site for recreatio n. In ad d ition, alert and action gui d eline le vels are use d for
su rv eillan ce t h roug hou t th e bath in g seaso n

. The t w o com pone nt s t o pr ovi di n g a g r adi n g fo r an i ndi vi dual beac h ar e: th e San ita ry Insp ection Ca tego ry (SIC ), w h i c h g e n e rates a m easu r e of t h e suscep tib ility o f a water body t o f aecal contamination •

• hi st ori cal m i crobi ol o g i cal res u l t s , whi c h gene rat e a Mi crobi ol o g i c al A ssessme n t Ca tego ry (M A C ), whi c h pr o v i des a measu r em en t of th e actu a l water q u a lity ov er ti m e

.

I N TRO DUC TION
. June 2003 

### 1These t w o com b ine d give anoverall S u itab ility fo r Recreation Grade ( SFR G ) , w h i c h desc ri bes t h e g e n e ral co nd itio n of a site at an y g i v e n tim e, b a sed
onb o th ri s k an d i n di cat o r bac t eri aco unt s. T h i s g r ad e h e lp s to d e term in e wh eth e r on go ing
m oni t o ri ng i s r e qui red , an d p r ovi des t h e basi s f o r tellin g p e op le wh et h e r or n o t th e water is su i t ab le for recreational use , from a public health pers pective.

Th roug hout th is document t h e term ‘b each’
re fer s to both m a rine and fres hw ater
recr e a ti on al w a te r si tes
. 

## What is the aim of the guidelines?
Th e aim o f t

h ese gu id elin es is to h e lp water
man a g e rs con t ro l th e pu b lic health risk fro m m i crobi ol ogi ca l cont am i n at i on i nrec r eat i o n a l wat e rs, an d t o pr o v i d e fo r m oni t o ri ng an d rep o rt i n g o n th e ge neral heal th of beac hes. The gui del i n es wer e desi gne d t o p r o v i d e g u i d an c e t o wat e r m a nage r s i n i m pl em enti ng t h e R e s o u r ce Man a g e m e n t Act 199 1 (RM A ), an d th e Health Act 19 5 6 fo r s h el l f i s h – gat h eri n g o r c ont act r ecr eat i on. A cru c ial p a rt o f th is is en su ri n g th at th e p ublic are in fo rm edof the h ealth risks i n tim e fo r t h em to make inform ed decisions a bout whethe r t o e n ter the wate r. The guidelin es re place the pre v ious M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent /

M i ni st ry o f Heal th Recrea tion a l Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es p u b l i s hed in Nov e m b er 19 99

. Gui d ance is provi ded for thre e categories of water
use:

•

•

• • m a ri ne bat h i n g an d othe r c ont act recreat i o n activ ities fres h w a t e r bat h i n g an d ot her cont act recreat i o n activ ities recreation a l shellfish g a t h eri n g in m a rin e waters (but not comm ercial shellfish har v est i n g)

. Th e Min i stry fo r th e Env i ronment is specifi cally
conce r ned wi t h ens u ri ng t h at t

h e pu bl i c ha s r eady access to re gional or l o cal aut h ority water quality in fo rm atio n on th e p o t en tial health risks from faecal contam ination of r ecre a tional wate rs. The g u i d e lin es shou ld prov id e th i s

. The guidelines also pr ov id e t h e m o n ito ri n g pr ot oc ol f o r th e st at e of t h e e nvi ro nm ent i n d i cat ors “the pe rce n tage of m onitore d beache s in eac h beach gra d e”, and “the pe rce n tage of the se ason beache s or c o a s tal areas were suitable for c o ntact recreat i o n or s h el l f i s h gat h eri ng”

. 

## What is the status of these guidelines? The g u i d el i n es ha ve been de v e l ope d ove r an ex ten s i v e p e ri od o f con s u ltatio n with reg i onal an d lo cal cou n cils an d h ealth au tho r ities, an d presen t a p r ef err e d appro ach to m o n itor i ng r e cr eational waters. T h ey ar e not le gislated standards tha t m u st be a dhe re d t o a t al l t i m e s.


## What does this document cover?
Th e gu id elin es cov e r th e m o nito ring an d in terpretatio n of resu lts fro m su rv eys for bacteriol ogical indicators of faecal contamination in recreation a l waters. Th ey d o no t co v e r o t h e r im pacts on the above water us es, s u ch as wat e r cl ari t y , chem i c al pol l u t i on , or m a ri ne bi ot o x i n s fro m alg a l b l oo m s . Th e gu idelin es shou ld no t b e use das t h e bas i s fo r est a bl i s hi ng co n d i t i ons f o r discharge cons ents, although t h ey m a y be us ed as a com pone nt f

o r deci si o n m a ki ng.
D o cu me n t s th at ma y b e of in te r e s t to an yon e managing wate r for c ontact re creation include two pr o duce d by th e M i ni stry f o r

th e E n vi ro nm ent : Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es N o 1 , w h i c h c o ver s th e m a nagem e nt o f bi ol ogi cal g r o w t h s i n ri v e rs use df o r s w i m m i ng

I N TRO DUC TION
. June 2003 

### 2Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es N o 2
, w h i c h c o ver s th e m a n a g e m e n t of water clarity fo r b a th i n g in fres h w a ters. •

These guidelines take prec ede n ce ove r t h e ANZ ECC Wa ter Qu a lity Gu i d elin es f o r Fresh a n d Marine W a ter for m i cro b i o l og ical water qu ality.
Fin a lly, v i sit the Min i stry fo r th e Env i ron m en t’s web s ite for furth e r i n fo rm atio n o n water-q u a lity pu bl i cat i ons: w w w
. m f e.go vt

. n z. 

## State of the environment reporting and link s w i th the Environmental Performa nce Indicators Programme
Th ese gu id elines con s titu te the m o n ito ring pr ot oc ol f o r re creat i onal beac hes i n New Ze al and. Alth oug h th e fo cus o f t

h is d o cu m e n t is o n m o n ito rin g recreatio n a l waters fo r pu b lic h e alth pu r poses , regi o n al co u n ci l s an d t h e M i ni st ry fo r th e En v i ron m e n t also u s e th is in fo rm atio n to rep o rt on the state of the envi r o nm ent at

a regi onal an d
n a tio n a l lev e l.
In di cat or s f o r r ecreat i onal wat e rs have bee n devel ope d t h r o ug h t h e M i ni st ry ’s E n vi r onm ent a l Perform a n ce In d i cators (E PI) Pro g ramm e, a n d will be rep o rt e d nat i onal l y th r o ug h th e E P I we bsi t e

. These guidelines and t h e acc om panying
ex p l an atory notes p r ov id e i n fo r m atio n on t h e d a ta
m a nagem e nt rel a t i onshi p bet w een th e M i ni st r y and dat ap r ovi ders , an d c ont ai n gu i d ance o n dat a tr ans f er p r ot oc ol s. Li n k s wi th othe r i n di cat ors are also discusse d.
S

ee N o te G(iii ) fo r d i scussion o n th e EPI pro g ra mme

. See N o t e G( v) for di scus si o n o n i n t e grat i n g stat e of

t

h e e n vi r o n m ent a n d p u b l i c he al t h pr ogram mes. 

## Conditions on the use of these guidelines These guidelines ha ve bee n pr ep ar ed to supp or t th e man a g e m e n t of b acterio l o g i cal water qu ality for recreational us e. These guidelines cannot be applied to water uses other than recreational use
. 

### Guidance for w a stew ater discharges These guidelines c a nnot be directly used to determine w a ter quality criteria for w a ste w ater dischar g es b e cau s e t h ere is the po ten tial fo r th e rel a t i ons hi p be tw een i ndi cat o r s an d pat h o g e n s t o be al t e red by t h e t r eat m e nt proce ss. T h e rel a t i o nshi p betwee n indica tor bacteria an d disease-ca usi n g bact eri a , vi r u se s an d pr ot oz oa i n th e di sc har g e nee d s to b e estab lished

. The M i ni st ry f o r

t h e E n vi r o n m ent has p ubl i s he d t h e Wastewater M onitoring Gui d elines , w h ich pr ov id e gui dance o n m oni t o ri n g treated wastewater. Inform atio n on th ese gu id elines is av ailab l e o nth e M i nistry ’s web s ite ( ww w. m f e. go v t .n z )

. In for m at io n ont h e S u stai n abl e Wast ew at er Ma n age me n t Hand boo k for S m a ller Commu n ities is also av ailab l e onth e M i ni str y ’s we bsi t e

. 

### Applying the guidelines to w a ter impacted b y w a stew at er discharg es Th ese gu id elines shou ld no t be d i rectly app liedto assess th e m i cr o b i o l og ical quality o f water t h at is im pact ed by a near by poi nt s o u r ce di schar g e o f treatedefflu e n t witho u t first co nfirm i n g th at th ey are ap pro p riate. Th is is p a rticu l arly i m p o r tan t fo r di si nfect e de ffl uent ( D i s i n fect i on R e vi ew G r ou p 2 002 ) andfor waste stab ilisatio n po nd effl u e n t (Si n t o net al 2 0 0 2 )

. It i s i m port a nt whe n pl anni ng the location an d degree of tre a tm ent for wa s t ewater treatm e nt plant s to rec ognise t h at the guideli n e values are not necessarily a guaran tee of safety.

I N TRO DUC TION
. June 2003 

### 3Wh ile it is co rrect to infer th at water ex ceed i n g th e gui deline value s poses an una cceptable health risk, the converse is not nece ssari l y true. T h is is because efflue nt m a y be treated t o a le vel whe r e the indicator b acteria co n c en tration s are very low, bu t p a th og ens suc h as vi r u ses an d pr ot oz oa m a y st i l l be p r esent at
su bstan tial concen tration s , effectiv ely ch ang i n g th e indicator/pathogen ratio.
To assess t h e micro b i o l o g i cal q u a lity of water th at is im pact ed by a di scharge of treated efflue nt, the rel a t i ons hi p be tw een i ndi cat o r bact eri aan d key pat h oge ns (s uc h as vi r u ses an d pr ot oz oa) m u st be estab lish e d fo r th at treatm e n t

. Th is wou l d requ ire t h e g e n e ratio n o f statistic ally robu st d a ta t o estab lish th at the treatm e n t p r ocess pr o duces anef fl ue nt t h at m e et s t h e gui del i n e indicator bacteria val u es, an d is capa b le of destr o y i ng pat h o g e n i c m i cro- or gani sm s.
Treat m e nt pl an t s al so req u i r e on g o i n g a udi t i ng an d
m onitoring. Wastewater plant s m a y not operate 10 0% o f th e t i m e (e.g

. du ri n g hi g h wat e r fl o w s) an d th e heal t h st at u s o f th e p o pul a t i on at an y gi v e n t i m e affects t h e pathoge ns likely in wastewater.

I N TRO DUC TION
. June 2003 

### 4

# Part I: The Framework for Monitoring Recreational Water Quality SECTION A: Why Monitor Water?

A.1 Health risks
Wat e r c o nt am inat ed by hum an or anim al excreta may contain a range of pat h ogenic (diseasecausing) m i cro-organism s, such as viruses , bact eri aan d p r ot oz oa. T h ese or gani sm s m a y p o se a health hazard when the wate r is use dfor recreation a l act iv ities su ch as swimmin g and o th e r h i gh -con tact water sports. In th ese activ ities th ere is a reason ab le risk t

h at water will b e swallowed, inhaled (Harrington et al 19 93) , o r co m e in co n t act with ears, nasa l passa ges, m u cous m e m b ranes or cu ts in th e sk in, allo wi n g p a t h o g e n s to en ter t h e bo dy

. Research is continui ng int o t h e health risks associated with contamina tio n of water b y sewag e and exc r eta. Until recently sc ientists believe d that g a stro -en t eritis was t h e m a in h ealth effect, bu t it is
no w bec o m i ng cl ear t h at re s p iratory health effects are also im portant, an d m a y e v en be m o re p r ev alen t t h an g a stro -en t eritis.
S

ee N o te G(i) f o r evi d e n c e on resp ira to r y illness

ca used b y

wa ter con tamina tion

.
In m o st cases th e ill-h ealth effects fro m ex po sure t o co nt am i n at ed wat e r ar e m i no r an d s h o r t

- l i ved. Howev e r, th ere is th e po ten tial for m o re serio u s d i seases, su ch as h e p a titis A, g i ard i asis, cryptos p ori d iosis, cam pylobacteriosis an d sal m o n e llo sis (Ph ilip 1 991 ).
Adh e ring to the gu id elin e v a l u es and u s ing t h e fram e wo rk set o u t i n th is do cu m e n t sh ou ld en sure th at pe opl e usi n g th e wat e r f

o r rec r eat i o n or co llectin g sh ellfish fo r eating are inform edof heal th ri sks , an d can m a ke ap pr o p ri at e de ci si ons t o avoi d e x p o si ng th em sel v es t o si gni fi cant heal t h risks.
Do th ese gu id elin es m easu r e th e lev e l of p a th og en s in th e water ? In fact it is d i ffi c u lt andim p r actical

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### A1to do t h is d i rectly. In stead , we m easu r e th e l e v e ls of

‘i n d i cat o r’ m i cro-o r gani s m s, whi c h i ndi rect l y t e l l us ab o u t t h e l e vel s of pat h oge ns . T h e m a ri ne gui del i n es wer e de vel o ped f

r o m m a ny st udi es relatin g b acteri o log i cal ind i cato r s t o illn ess i n th e g e n e ral p u b lic after b a th i n g (see esp ecially th e W H O r e v i ew by Pr üss 1 998 ). Th ese stud ies include , but are not confine d to, those carried out at

seve n New Zeal and m a ri ne beac hes i n 19 94

– 9 5 (M cB ri de, Sal m ond, et al 1 9 9 8 )

. T h e fres h wat e r gui del i n es wer e de vel o ped f

r o m t h e fi n d i n g s o f t h e Fres hwate r Microbiol ogy Res earch Programm e Rep o rt: Patho g en Occurre nce and Hum a n He alth Risk As sessm e n t Analysis, Novem b er 20021 (McBride, et al 2002).
Th e gu id elin es wo rk with a defin e d‘t o l erab le risk’ rath er th an n o risk at all. For m o st h ealth y peo p l e water con f o r m i n g to t h e g u i d e lin e v a lue will p o s e a m i nim a l l e vel of ri s k

. H o w e ver , wat e r co nfo r m i n g to th e gu id eli n e values m a y still pos e a p o t en tial h ealth risk t o h i gh -risk u s er group s su ch as the very y o ung, the elde rly and those with im paired im m u ne system s. S

ee No te G ( ii ) f

o r mo re in fo rma tio n o n h e a lth risk s.



### A.2 State of the environment reporting Reg i on al councils an d th e Mi n i stry fo r th e Env i ron m en t hav e respon sib i l ities u n d e r t h e RMA to m onitor t h e state of t h e e nvironm ent. Reporting on state is ac hieved re gion ally th ro ugh state of th e envi ro nm ent re po rt s an d nat i o nal l y t h r o u g h nat i onal st at e o f th e en vi r onm ent re p o rt i n g. The purpose of st at e of t h e en vi ronm ent m oni t o ri ng and report i ng i s t o use envi ronm en t a l perfor m ance i ndi cat o rs (EPIs) t o m easure and m onit o r hum an activities and their effec t s on the envi ronm ent. The Governm e nt ’s object i v es for the st at e of t h e envi ronm ent moni t o ri ng and r e port i ng are t o : •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

1 A copy of the report can be downl oa ded from the Ministry for the E

n vironment’ s website www.mfe.gov t.nz

. syste m atically report on the st ate of Ne w Zealand’s e n vironm ental assets syste m atically measure th e per f o r m a n ce of it s en v i ron m en tal p o licies an d leg i slatio n b e tter p r ioritise po licy an d imp r ov e envi ro nm ent a l deci si o n m a ki ng. Ov er tim e, th e in fo rm atio n pro d u c edthro ugh
m oni t o ri ng en v i ro nm ent a l per f o r m a nce i ndi c a t o rs will:
cont ri b u t e t o ra i s i ng t h e l e vel of k

n o wl e dge about the state of Ne w Zealan d’s environm e n t in crease ou r abilit y to rep o rt on en v i ron m en tal h ealth an d trend s p r ov id e t h e tools f o r

e ffective evaluation of p o licy
pr o v ide t h e in f o rm ation bas e fo r m o re in fo r m edpo licy an d m a n a g e men t d ecision s. Thi s doc um ent ser v es as a m oni t o ri ng p r ot oc ol f o r t w o c o nfi r m e d i ndi cat o r s fo r h u m a n heal t h an d val u es f o r

m a rine an d f

r es hwa t er en vi r onm en t s : the pe rce n tage of m onitored beaches i n eac h gra d e the pe rce n tage of the sea s on beaches or coa s tal
areas were suit able for contac t recreation or sh ellfish g a t h erin g

. ‘Beaches ’ refe rs to both m a rine and fres h water recreation sites.
Th e n a tion a l ob j ectives o f t

h e s e indicators are to:
q u an tify th e human h ealth risk s at recreational water sites and sh ellfish

- g a th ering areas measure the ge neral state of recreational wat e r areas repo rt on th e ov erall su itab ility o f recreatio nal water ar eas fo r bathi n g

. S

ee N o te G(iii ) fo r more in f

o rma tion on st a t e o f th e en viron m en t rep o r ting

.

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### A2Int e grat ing publi c hea l th and stat e of the
e n v i ronm en t da ta Th e pu rp ose o f th e m i cro b i o l og ical water qu ality gui delines fo r m a rine an d fre shwate r recreat ional areas is t o h e lp con tro l th e pub lic h ealth risk fro m m i crobi ol ogi ca l cont am i n at i on i nrec r eat i o n a l waters andto prov id e a fram e w ork fo r m o n ito ri n g and re porting on the ge ne ral health of beache s

. Inte grating t h e needs of both s t ate of t h e envi ro nm ent and p u b l i c heal t h m oni t o ri ng m a y p r esen t so m e ch allen g e s, bu t it is ach iev a b l e.
M i crobi ol o g i c al i n f o rm at i on i s ge nerat e d m o re in ten s iv ely to k eep sto c k o f sh ort-term v a riatio n that can affect the public h eal th risk o f water quality. This m onitoring takes place on a weekly b a sis, althou gh at ti m e s fo llow-up m o n ito ri n g is requ iredto id en tify th e p e rm an en ce of an id en tified gu ide line excee dance. The purpose of state of the environm ent
m o n ito rin g is t o co llect su fficien t d a ta t o p r odu c e in fo rm atio n on th e g e n e ral h e alth of th e en v i ron m en t. Th is info rm ati o n can th en b e u s edto
m easure ho w wel l o u r m a nagem e nt pract i ces, pol i c i e s an d l a ws ar e wo rki n g, an d whet her envi ro nm ent a l out c o m e s are b e i ng ac hi e v ed

. The beach gra d es generate d through the c o m b ination of the catchm e nt assessm ent and the m i crobiol ogical
assessm ent provide t h e state of the environm ent in fo rm atio n to th e pub lic on t h e g e n e ral co nd itio n o f

th e recreation a l area with resp ect to pub lic health risk. T h e micr obi ol o g i cal i n f o rm at i on collected to ass e ss the pub lic h ealth risk at th e beach on a wee k ly basis is aggregate d ove r five years to ge nera te the Microbi o logical Asse s s m e nt Category t h at i s use di n the beach gra d ing proces s.

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### A3

## SECTION B: Who Monitors and Reports?

B.1 Roles and responsibilities
Th e Microb io lo g i ca l Wa ter Qua lity Gu id el in es fo r Marine and Fr eshwater Recr eational Ar eas have b een d e v e lop e d for th e ag en cies in vo lv edi n th e
m o n ito rin g and rep o rtin g of recreatio n a l waters. Th is is p r im arily reg i on al, territo rial an d un i t ary councils, Distri ct Health B o ards an d Medical Of ficers o f He alth.
Du ri n g t h e dev e l opm ent of th i s m a nual th ere was an o v e rwh e lm i n g requ est from a ll th o s e invo lv ed in b each water-qu ality m o n ito ri n g fo r gu id an ce fr om the M i nistry fo r t h e E nvi ro nm ent and M i ni stry of He al th o n th e a p p r o p ri at e del e ga t i on of
ro les andrespon sib ilities for recreatio n a l b e ach
m o n ito rin g

. Determin in g precisely wh ich ag en cy is resp on sib l e fo r wh ich ro les in m o n ito ring an d repo rting b each water qu ality fo r pu b lic h eal th pr ot ect i o nm u st be one o f t

h e fi rst st ep s i n devel opi ng a s a m p l i ng an d re po rt i n g pr og ra m m e

. So m e reg i on al, territorial and u n itary cou n c il s have cl earl y de fi ne d t h ese r o l e s, basi n g t h ei r d ecision s o nco un cil ‘own ersh ip’ o f t

h e ro les, an d the availa ble re sources and ar eas of e xpe rtise.
S

ee N o te G(vii) o n d ifferen t respo n s i b ility

scena r io s op era tin g aroun d th e co un try.

Th e fo llowing sectio n ou tlin es an app r o a ch fo r clarifyin g ro les and respon sib i lities at th e regio n a l l e vel by way o f pr ot oc ol s, a g r eed t o by t h e di ffe re nt age n c i es t h at ha ve a rol e i n m oni t o r i ng an d repo rting recreatio n a l wat e r q u a lity. Th i s section als o presents a rec o mmended fram e w ork for th e ro les reg i on al coun cils, territorial lo cal
au tho r ities, un itary cou n c ils an d h ealth agencies will h a v e wit h resp ect t o recreatio n a l water-qu ality
m oni t o ri ng an d re po rt i n g

. 

### B.2 Recommended framework for roles and responsibilities
Th e Min i stry fo r th e Env i ro nmen t an d Min i stry of Heal th have a g reed o n t h e f o l l owi n g rec o m m e nde d fram e wo rk for ro les andrespon sib ilities in relatio n to recreation a l waters. i. The regi onal c o uncil co-ordinates the
m oni t o ri ng an d re po rt i n g strat e gy

. ii. Th e reg i o n a l co un cil im p l e m en ts su rv eillance
an d alert-lev e l m o n ito rin g

. iii. Th e Med i cal Officer of Health rev i ews th e ef

f ectiv en ess of th e m o n ito r i ng an d r e po r ting strategy. iv

. Th e reg i o n a l co un cil inform s th e Med i cal Officer of Heal th and te rritorial au tho r ity if alert or action l e vels are reac hed.

v
. Th e Med i cal Officer of Health will en su re th at th e territo rial au th ority is in fo rm ed

. v i

. Th e territorial au tho r ity will in fo rm th e pu bl i c w h e n t h e act i on l e vel i s excee de d – t h e Med i cal Officer o f Health will en su re th e p u b lic is informedwith in ag reedtim efra m e s

. v ii. If t h e action lev e l is reach e d , th e territ o rial
au tho r ity will u n d e rtak e nu isan ce m o n ito ri ng and cause all proper step s to be tak e n to ab at e or rem ove the nuisance. On occasion it m a y b e m o r e ap pr op r i ate for th e reg i on al coun cil to und ertak e this du ty. Th e M e d i cal Officer
o f

Health will p r ov id e adv i ce anden su re t h at proper steps ar e taken by t h e t e rritorial local
au tho r ities an d/o r reg i o n a l cou n c ils.

v iii. It is th e resp onsib ility o f th e Med i cal Officer
o f

Health to ensu re th at sites with m o d i fied gra d es ar e a u dited in ac cordan ce with t h ese gui del i n es. ix

. Th e reg i o n a l co un cil will co llate th e inform ation for state of the environm ent rep o rt i n g an d a re vi ew of m a nagem e nt p o licies. S

ee N o te G(viii) fo r th e leg i slative b a s is f o r t h ese reco mme n dat i ons

. S

ee N o te H(xii) fo r a n exp lana tio n o f mo d ifi ed beac h gra d es.

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### B1The M e dica l Of f i cer of Hea l th ha s a lead rol e , gi ve n hi s / her r e s p onsi bili ties un de r th e Hea l th Act, to ensure the pr oper steps are taken by the terri tori al l o c a l authori t ie s to pr ote c t pu blic h e al th
.
In so m e situ atio n s it m a y b e m o re ap propriate for the re gional c o uncil to abate/re m ove the nuis ance, as w h e n t h e so urce o f c ont am i n at i on has bee n id en tified as b e in g with in its ju risd ictio n (e.g. di scharge s of f a rm dai ry effl u e nt ). Al th o u g h th e g u i d e lin es adv i se inv e stig ation o f th e nu isance, th ey d o not require th at st e p s be un de rt ake n t o rem ove it. Howeve r, taking proper steps t o abate
or

rem ove t h e nui sance i s a H eal t h Act requ irem en t, an d it is an RMA requ irem en t to
rem e dy and m i tigate, so rem oving the nuisan ce is a l ogi cal n e xt st e p

. A leg a l op in i o n o nleg i slated ro les andan o u tlin e o f

th e cu rren t m o n ito rin g and rep o rtin g scenario s ar oun d th e coun try p r o v i d e d th e b ackgr oun d fo r th e reco mm en d a tio n on ro les and respon sib i lities.
S

ee N o te G(ix) fo r d e ta ils o f

t

h e leg a l op in i o n.
The E x planat ory Notes als o present a num b er of altern ativ e ro les andresp on si b ilities fram e wo rk s that are a p plied by som e coun cils aro undthe
co un try (see No te G(v ii)). These illu strate that there ar e a range of options fo r en sur i ng th at th e p u b lic are ab le to m a k e informed choices a b out th eir recreational activ ities. Th ey are prov ided for agencies that do not ha ve an effectiv e ro les an d responsibilities fram e work in place and wish to use an altern ativ e t o th e reco mm e n d e d fram e work

. Reg i on al councils, territorial au tho r ities an d h ealth
au tho r ities m u st d ecid e wh at best su its th eir circum stances, taking int o c o nside r ation what has pre v i o usl y p r o v ent o be succe ssful

. 

### B.3 Regional protocols
Th e Min i stry fo r th e Env i ro nmen t an d Min i stry of Health recomm end that l o ca l gove rnm e nt and pu bl i c heal t h s e rvi ces de vel o p regi onal pr ot ocol s that clearly ide n tify a lead age n cy, whic h develops
a m oni t o ri n g p r ot ocol t h at s p eci fi es t h e det a i l s of:

•

•

•

•

• th e agreedro les and resp on si b ilities p r o t o c ol, includi ng who is accounta b le 2
h o w t h e p r og ramme will b e im p l e m en ted what t

h e m a nagem e nt and co m muni cat i on/ education responses will be t o e x ceedan ce events

. Each a g e n cy i n vol ved i n t h e m oni t o ri ng pr o g ram m e shoul d al s o be c o nsul t e d t o ens u re there is a g reement on ho w eac h site is asse ss ed. These p r ot ocol s sh o u l dbe bas e d on th e a g e n ci es’ resp ectiv e leg i slativ e fun c tion s relatin g t o recreation a l water-qu a lity m o n ito ri n g and repo rting , with th e aim o f : reflecting an d clarifying l o cal /regional
co nd itio ns an d arran g e m e n t s enhanci n g c o l l abo r at i o n, o p er at i onal
co -o rd in ation an d th e pe rf orm a nce of th ei r resp ectiv e ro les and resp on si b ilities.
C onsi d erat i o n m u st be gi ve n t o t h e r o l e of n o n reg u l a t o ry g r o ups , s u c h as co m muni ty gro u p s an d
o r

iwi. In teractio n s b e t w een co mm u n ities,
au tho r ities an d org an i satio ns are a k e y requ i r em en t in m o n ito ring , repo rting and reso lv i n g waterq u a lity issu es.

2 A t the time of writing, such pr otoc ols have been suggest ed for inclusion in the pr oposed Public Health Bill. The protocols outlined in the Bill rela te to all matte rs of public health, of which recreational water quality is one.

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### B2Whe n de vel o pi ng t h e p r ot ocol s, c onsi d erat i o n sho u l d be gi ve n t o t h e e x pert i s e an d res o u r ci ng g e n e rally h e ld with in t h e reg i o n a l cou n c ils, territo rial lo cal au thorities and b y th e Med i cal Of ficers o f He alth. F o r e x ample, Me dical Officers of

Heal th ha ve expe rt i s e i n t h e im pl em ent a t i on of heal t h regi m e s, an d regi onal c o u n ci l s gene ral l y h a v e th e techn i cal ex p e rtise in water issu es. These p r ot ocol s sh o u l d det a i l wh o i s res p ons i b l e for each o f th e ro les (i to ix ) ou tlin edi n B.2 , an d copi es sh o u l dbe hel dby eac h of t h e part i c i p at i n g agencies

. Protocols m a y also be nee d ed when
r e v i ew ing an ev en t, or t o j u sti f y actio n s dur in g an event. In extre m e circum stances they m a y be
n ecessary as sup portin g m a ter i al fo r litig atio n

.



### B.4 Abating t h e nuisance
Inv e stig ating , id en tifying and rem e d y in g a nui sance s h oul d be base d onth e e xpe rt i s e wi th i n the age n cies an d the functions of these age n c i es with in t h eir ju risd ictio n

. How th e p r ob lem is mit i g a tedis at th e d i scretion o f th e cou n c il, alth o ugh the co ur se of action tak e n sh ou ld meet the approval of the Me di cal Officer of Health.
Th e gu id elin es do n o t sp ecify that the cause of failure t o m eet the s p ecified levels m u st be rectified

. Th ey m e rely req u i re th at th e pub lic is inform ed when beac hes ar e not suitable for c ontact recreation

. Howev e r, on ce a p r ob lem is id en tified , m a ny cou n ci l s – an d , i n dee d , t h e pu bl i c – wi l l want i t fi xe d. Som e causes ( e .g. b r oke n se wers , illeg a l sewer– sto r m w ater conn ectio ns) are easier to fix t h an o t h e rs, bu t are still d i fficu lt. Ag ed sto r m w ater syste m s an d ru ral run

- off will req u i re l o n g -t erm pl an ni n g an d s o l u t i ons , an d m a y never b e fu lly fix e d. In th ese situ atio n s th e territorial lo cal au t h orities, reg i on al co un cils andMed i cal Of fi cer of Heal th m a y devel o p a strat e gy fo r redu cing o r elimin atin g th e pro b l em

. 

### B.5 Legal implications
Failu re t o n o tify th e pub lic of a kn own h ealth risk, wh ich th en resu lts in d a m a g e to m e m b ers o f th e p u b lic, m a y lea dto leg a l action b e ing tak e n ag ain s t the age n cy res p onsi ble (reg i o n a l coun cil, territo rial local aut h ority or Medical Officer of Health) by affect ed g r ou p s o r i n di vi dual s

. All ag en cies inv o l v e d in m o n i to ring water quality sh ou l d b e aware of th eir leg a l o b lig ation t o pro t ect th e pub lic h eal th , an d th at failu re to m eet th ese o b lig ation s m a y resu lt in leg a l actio n

. Leg a l actio n can be a voi de d by not i f y i n g t h e pu bl i c as s o onas a h ealth risk is iden tified

.

PA RT I : T H E FR AME W OR K F O R M O NIT O RIN G REC R E A TI ON AL W A TE R QUAL IT Y. June 2003 

### B3

# Part II: Guidelines for Recreational Water Quality SECTION C: Ho w Do We Dev e lop Guideline Values?

C.1 The overall approac h The pri n ci pl e o f usi n g gui del i n e val u es i s si m p l e : we m easure the level of ‘faec al indicator
or gani sm s’, w h i c h d o not nec e ssari l y cause di sease th em selv es b u t sign al th e po ten tial p r esen ce o f di sease-ca usi n g or gani sm s. Gui d el i n e val u es o f faecal indicator organism s such as enteroc o cci have bee n use d succes sfully for a long tim e in recreation a l waters. Ho wev e r, th ere are still q u e stio n s about th e eff ectiv eness of t

h is appro ach for m o n ito ri n g an d m easu r in g water qu ality, an d a
num ber of en vi ro nm ent a l and phy si cal fact or s m a y influe nce t h e useful ness of fa ecal bacteria as i ndi cat o r s. The m a in cons traints to t h e a p proach use di n current guideli n es are as fo llows:

•

•

• M a nagem e nt act i ons ar e ret r o s pect i v e – t h ey can be depl oy e donl y a fter human exposure t o the hazard. Whi l e beac hes m a y be desi gn at ed as s u i t abl e o r
u n s u itab l e for recreatio n a l acti v ities, th ere is i n fact a gra d ient of increa sing s e verity, variety and f

r eq ue ncy of heal th effects with increa sing
sewa ge pol l u t i on

. It i s t h e r ef ore desi rabl e t o pr om ot e i n cre m ent a l im prov em ent s or p r ev en tio n, p r i o ritisin g ‘wo r st features’, to ach iev e co st -effectiv e in terv en tio n. Alth oug h en tero co cci h a v e b e en id en tified as havi ng t h e best rel a t i ons hi p w i th heal t h ef fec t s i n m a ri ne wat e rs, t h ey m a y also be deri ved from other t h an faecal source s in s o m e co nd itio ns. 3

3 Such conditi ons as sub- tropical temperatures and the in fluence of mangrove swamps and freshwater ru n
- off from dense vegetation have been identified in parts of New Zealand.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### C1• Many Ne w Ze aland recreational sites are at estuaries, where historical res u lts from bot h Esch erich i a coli ( E. co li) ( as the pre f erred indicator for freshwater faeca l contam ination) and ente roc o cc i are re qu ire d for an assessm ent of

health ris k

. Su ch co nstraints to th e u s e of g u i d e lin e v a lu es are not c o nfi n ed t o Ne w Zeal an d

. I n N o vem b er 19 9 8 a gr oup o f exper t s fr o m th e W H O , th e Co mmissio n of th e Eu rop ean Co mm u n ities a n d th e United States Environm ental Protection Agency (USEPA) m e t in Ann a p o lis, USA, to con s id er way s t o ad dre s s suc h an om alies an d c o nst r ai nt s. The e x perts a g reed that an i m pr o v ed ap pr oa ch t o regu latin g recreatio n a l water th at b e tter reflected heal th ri sk an d pr o v i d e de nhanced sc ope f o r effectiv e m a n a g e m e n t in terv en tio n was n ecessary

–

an d feasi b le. Th e resu ltin g ap pro ach h a s beco m e kn o w nas t h e ‘ A n n a pol i s Pr ot ocol ’

. Pu b lishedin 19 9 9 , i t c ove rs ap pr oac h es i n vol vi n g bot h an envi ronm ental hazard as sessment and a micro b i o l o g i cal water qu ality assessm en t.
See N o t e G( x) for f u rt her det a i l s on t h e A n na pol i s Prot oc ol

. The M i ni stry f o r

th e E n vi r o n m ent resp o nde d by est abl i s hi n g t h e M a ri ne B a t h i n g Wo rki n g G r ou p i n 1 999 as a co n s u ltatio n o f in terested p arties to investigate t h e applica tion o f an ‘Ann apo lis’ approach to Ne w Zealan d conditions . T h e approach has been m odified a f ter c o nsultation an d tr ial du r i ng t h e 20 01 b a th i n g season

. I t h a s also been m odi fi ed t o i n c o r p orat e up dat e s fr om the WH O c o nt ai ne d i nth ei r p u b l i cat i ons Ba th ing Wa ter Qua lity a n d Hu man Hea lth : Pr ot ect i o n of th e human en vi ro nmen t wa ter, san ita tion a nd heal t h (W HO 2 001 ) and Gu id elin es f o r S a f

e Recreational Water E n vironments : V o lume 1 C

oast a l

a n d Fr eshw at ers 4 (WH O 200 3) , and as
suc h is inc o rporated as p art o f th ese gu id elines.

4 A copy of this report can be downloa ded from the WHO website www.who.int

. This a p proach has als o been a pplied in t h e devel opm ent o f th e f r esh w at e r gui del i n es, f o r whi c h t h e M i ni stry f o r t h e E n vi r onm ent estab lish e d th e Freshwater Gu id elin es Adv i so ry Group. T h e freshwater g u i d e lin es were trial l ed
ove r t h e 20 0 3 bat h i n g seaso n , an d ha ve bee n up dat e d i n l i gh t of fee dbac k

.



### C.2 The frame w ork
The fra m e work used in these g u idelines is a
co m b i n at i on of catch m e n t ri sk gradi ng and si ngl e sa m p les to ass e ss suitability for recreation. This is a mo v e away fro m th e so le u s e o f q

u a

n tita tiv e ‘guideline’ values of faecal in dica tor bacter ia towards a qualita tive ranking of faeca l loading in a
recrea tional wa ter environ m en t, support e d by direct
me asure m ent o f appropriate fa eca l indic a tors. The fram e work is su m m a rised in Figure C1. An explanati o n of all the features of this fram e wor k , i n c l udi n g t h e C a t c hm ent Assess m e nt Ch eck list (u sedto d e riv e th e San itary In sp ectio n C a t e gory ) , t h e M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent Categ o ry andt h e San itary In sp ectio n Category, will b e g i v e n wh en we l o ok i n Part II at sett in g ou t to gra d e a beac h. For t h e m o ment we ar e focusing
o nth e fin a l resu lt of th is pro c ess – th e Su itab ility for Recreati o n Beach Gra d e. Thi s gra d e pr o v i d es an i n di cat i on of th e ge n e ral condition of a beach. The risk of bec o m i ng sick from swimming at a beac h i n creases as the beach g r ad ing sh ifts fro m Very Goodto Very Poo r

. Co nd itio n s affectin g water qu ality v a ry for th e middle range of beach gr ade s (Good, Fair and Poor). For exa m ple, ‘Good’ beaches us ually
co m p ly with the gu id elin es, bu t ev en ts su ch as high rainfall i n crease the ris k of contam ination lev e ls fr o m r

un- of f.
Weekl y m oni t o ri ng sh o u l d b e carri e d out d

u ri ng the bat h ing sea s on for these middle-range be aches. For beaches where routin e monitoring will be
o ngo ing du ring th e b a th ing season , t h e three-tier syste m applies, analogo us to traffic lig h t s:

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### C2highly likely to be unc on taminate d (gree n): ‘su itab l e’ for bath in g, b u t requ iring water
man a g e rs to con tin u e su rv eillan ce (e.g

. rou t i n e
m oni t o ri ng ) •

•

• potenti a lly c o ntaminated (amber): ‘po t en tially u n su itab l e’, requ iring water
man a g e rs to und ertak e furth e r in v e stig atio n to assess th e su itab ility fo r recreatio n hi ghl y l i k el y t o be co nt ami n ate d (re d ) : ‘h i g h l y lik ely to b e u n su itab l e’, requ iri n g ur ge nt act i o nf r om wat e r m a nagers , s u c h as p u b lic warn ings.
Th e pu b lic will b e i n fo rm edwh en swimm i n g is not rec o m m e nded: f o r t h e m a ri ne g u i d el i n es , w h e n two c o nsec uti v e sam p les taken fro m th e b e ach exceed the action level of the microbiol ogica l water-qu ality gu id elin es; andfor fresh water, wh en one s a m p l e exceeds t h e action level.
S

ee N o te H(i) f o r i n fo rma tion o n samp ling times
an d peri ods

. The gra d ing process i d entifies source s of fae cal cont am i n at i on, suc h as se wer ove rfl ow s ca us ed by h eav y rainfall, wh ich influ e n c e th e fin a l Su itab ility for Recreati o n Gra d e. Conta m ination e v ent s m a y be t r i gge red by speci fi c c o ndi t i ons (e. g

. rai n f a l l )

. W h er e mo n itorin g ag en c i e s c an p r ed ic t s u ch
co n t am in atio n ev en ts, th ey m a y in itiate
man a g e m e n t in terv en tio n s to d e ter u s e of th e site. Whe r e t h ese i n terve n tions can be dem o ns trated to be effecti v e in d i scou r a g i ng use of th e r e cr eatio n a l site, th e in itial g r ad e m a y b e m o d i fiedto reflect th e usual water-quality conditions at that site. T h is is achi e ve d by re m ovi ng th e s o urce o f th e p r e d i c t abl e exceedan ce events from th e catchm e nt assessm ent.
S

ee N o te H(xii) fo r mo re i n forma t i o n on mod ifyin g beac h gra d es.
We will n o w go o nto l o ok at p u tting th is
m o n ito rin g , g r ad ing an d pub lic warn ing syst e m in to p r actice.
Suc h m odi fi cat i on o f a gra d e, achi e ve d by
man a g e m e n t practices, reflects th e qu ality o f water at the tim e of use. It does not alter the
en v i ron m en tal co nd itio ns an d micro b i o l o g i cal d a ta g o v e rn i n g th e i n itial g r ad ing

.

A ssess ment of mic r o b iologic a l data (opti m um five years’ data –

100 data po ints or greater) A ppli c ation o f the Catchm ent As sessm ent C heckl ist

Microbi ologic a l A ssess ment Category S anitary Ins pection C a tegory

S u itability for Recr eation Beach G r ade

V e ry Good Good Fair P oor Very Poor

W eekl y survei llance and reporting during bathing sea s on Figure C1: Surveillance re qui rements for graded beac hes Sour ce: M odified fr o m W H O, 2003.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### C3

## SECTION D: Microbiological Guidelines for Marine Waters
The fram e work in these guidelines use s bot h beach gra d ing an d guideline values. Beach gra d es p r ov id e t h e b a sic m ean s to assess su itab ility fo r recreation ov er ti m e , u s ing a co m b in atio n o f knowledge of beach catch m e nt char acteristics and
m i crobi ol ogi ca l i n f o rm at i on g a t h ere d ove r p r ev iou s years. Sing le sam p le resu lts are
com p ared a g ai nst gui deline values, t o help water
m a nagers det e r m i n e whe n m a nagem e nt in terv en tion is requ ired

. Th e g u i d e lin e v a lu es th at have bee n deci ded o n ar e s u m m a ri sed i n D. 5

.



### D.1 Designation of a cont act recreation area People are ge nerally free t o s w im where v er they like around Ne w Zealan d’ s m a ny beac hes , b u t i t
wou l d b e im p o ssib l e to m o n i t o r th em all. Criteria for ide n tifying whic h beach e s to m onitor will vary fro m reg i on to reg i o n , b u t will g e n e rally b e based
on us age , a v ailable inform atio n an d the res o urces av ailab l e to th e m o n ito ring auth ority. The M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent an d M i ni st ry o f Health recomm end that t h e beache s to be included i n th e m oni t o ri ng p r og ram m e be a g ree d by al l agencies invol ved in t h e programme and doc um ent e d i nt h e regi onal p r ot oc ol

.


### D.2 Sampling beach w a ter
Th e fo llowing in fo rm atio n is p r ov id ed to h e l p devel o p a sam p l i n g p r og ram m e for m oni t o r i ng beache s

. Sa mp ling p eriod
Sam p les sh ou ld b e co llected du ring t h e b a thin g seaso n , o r whe n th e wat e r bo dy i s used f

o r

c ont act recreation

. The b a th i n g season will v a ry acco r d i ng to lo cation , bu t will g e n e rally ex tend fro m 1 No vem b er t o 3 1 M a rc h. Sa m p li ng s h oul d t a ke place bet w ee n 8 am and 6 pm. S

ee N o te H(i) f o r d e ta ils o n sa mp ling times a n d periods.

Bacteri ol ogi c al indic a tors , catchme n t as se ss me n t an d sin g l e s a m p les
For m a rine wat e r the p r efe rre d in dicato r is enterococci. T h e New Zealand Mari ne Bathi n g Study s h owed that enteroc o cc i are the indicator
m o st closely correlated w ith h ealth effects i n New Zealand m a rine waters , c o nfi r m i ng a pattern seen i n a num ber of ove rseas st u d i e s (as re vi ewe dby Prüss 1998). Faecal coliform s and E. co li we re not
as well co rrelatedwith h ealth risk s, altho ugh th ey
m a y be use das an i ndi cat or i nad di t i on t o en tero co cci i n en v i ron m en tal co nd itio ns wh ere enterococci le vels alone m a y be m i sleading. 5 (See Ap pe ndi x 2 fo r a det a i l e d re po rt o n t h e devel opm ent o f i n di cat or s i n t e rnat i o nal l y .)
E. c o li rathe r t

h an ente roc o cc i shoul d be use das an indicator whe r ever the pr im ary source of fae cal contam ination is a waste stabi lisation pond (WSP). En tero co cci are d a m a g e di n WSPs (Dav ies-Co lley et al 1999), whereas faecal coliform s that emerge fr om a po nd ap pear t o be m o r e su nl i g ht resi s t ant th an t h ose th at en ter it (S in t o n et al 19 99)

. Th u s WSP ente roc o cci are inactiv a t ed in receivi ng water faster t h an WSP faecal c o liform s (Sinton et a l 2 002 ).

5 E s tuarine and bra ckish waters may r e quire a combinati on of both indicators, identifi ed throug h the catchment assessment.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D1Type of sa mpling progra m me The guidelines rec o mmend a syste m atic random

sam p lin g reg i me. Gen e rally th is m ean s sam p les sh ou l db e co llected week ly, reg a rd less o f th e weathe r. The r e m a y be ex ce pt i o n s i f c o ndi t i ons prese n t a healt h an d safety ha zard, in which case sam p les sh ou ld b e co llectedas soo nafter th e programm ed time as possible.

Sa mp ling d e pt h
Sam p les sh ou ld b e co llected at ap pro x i m a te ly 15 cm below t h e s u rface at a poi nt whe r e the de pth of

th e wat e r i s app r oxi m a t e ly 0. 5 m e tr es (bas ed on dat ai n M c B r i d e, Sal m ond, et al 19 9 8 )

. S

ee N o te H(ii) fo r techn i qu es fo r ta ki n g and

an al ysi n g s a m p l e s.



### D.3 Grading a beach
Th e resu lts ob tain ed fro m week ly sam p lin g u n d e r a m oni t o ri n g p r o g ram m e are onl y one as pec t of t h e process

. We al so nee dto grade the beac h we are
m oni t o ri ng

. T h ere are t w o co m ponent s t o gr adi n g beache s : th e San ita ry Insp ection Ca tego ry (SIC ), whi c h g e n e rates a m easu r e of t h e suscep tib ility o f a water body t o f aecal contamination •

• hi st ori cal m i crobi ol o g i cal res u l t s , whi c h gene rat e a Mi crobi ol o g i c al A ssessme n t Ca tego ry (M A C ). This p r o v i d es a measu r em en t of th e actu a l water q u a lity ov er ti m e

. The t w o com b ined gi ve an overall Su ita b ility fo r Recreation Grade ( SFR G ) , w h i c h desc ri bes t h e g e n e ral co nd itio n of a site at an y g i v e n tim e, b a sed
onb o th ri s k an d i n di cat o r bac t eri aco unt s. T h e SIC , M A C an d SFR G are ex p l ai ned bel o w. No te: Wh erea s b e fore th e gu i d elin es were no t ap

pl i c a b l e w h e r e a be ac h rec e i ved t r eat e d s e w age , th e grad ing system no w a llo w s an a ssessm e nt o f th e h e a lth risk p r esen t a t a b e a c h (via th e San ita ry In sp ection C a teg o ry) a fter eva lua tin g th e effectiven ess o f

th e trea tmen t p r ocesses.

As se ssi n g a b e ach
Th e recreational water-qu ality d ecision tree (Figu r e D1) o u tlin es th e p r o c ess th at will leadto gra d ing a beac h. All beache s will ha ve t o go th ro ugh th is pro cess, wh ich help s to id en tify th e i n f o rm at i on ne eded i n o r de r t o gra d e a si t e

.
Co llect ing bac k g r oun d in fo rmat i o n As m u ch i n fo rmatio n as is feasib le abou t the site shoul d be c o llected to m a ke the assessm ent of ris k

cont ributing fa ctors a s acc ura t e as possi ble. Sou r ces of i n form at io n will v ary fro m reg i on to regi on

. Gath e r i ng t h i s i n fo rm at i on m a y i nvo l v e a range of age n c i es (health, wat e r an d sewe ra ge in du stries; d i strict, city, r e g i on al coun cils) , w h ich will have access to differe n t inform at ion for t h e sam e beach catchm e nt. Relevant inform atio n i n cl ude s drai na ge pl ans , si t e m a ps, pre v i o us season ’s m o n ito ri n g resu lts, an d con s en t ap p lication s

. The purpose of the decisi on tree is to p r ov id e a lo g i cal co urse t h at allo ws th e respo n s i b le au t h ority t o m a ke defe ns i b l e deci si o n s onw h ethe r or not t o g r ad e a p ar ticular w a ter bod y.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D2St ep 1 Is the w a ter body us ed f o r c ontac t r e c r eati on?

Co mp le te Ca tc h m e n t A ssessment

C h eckli s t

(CA C )

St ep 2 Ar e c a tc hm ent

ri sk fa cto r s pr es ent?

St ep 3 Is ther e a w a s t ew ater t r eatm ent pl ant

pr esent ?

St ep 6: D e t e rmi n i n g a Grad e

Mi cro b i o l o g i cal A sse ssmen t C a t e go ry (MA C ); S a n i t a r y In sp ect io n C a t e g o ry (S I C ); E s t abl i s h gr adi ng f r om Su it ab il it y f o r R ecreat i o n Grad e (SF R G ) ta b l e Yes

Yes

Yes Ar e ther e r eas ons f o r gr a d i ng t h i s

beac h? Lo w risk un g r aded ( R eas s es s i n fi v e y ear s or w h en c hange oc c u r s ) U n g r aded ( R eas s e s s i f usage c h anges ) No

No No

No Yes

No St ep 5 C a n y ou c o l l ec t micro b io l o g i ca l data? No Pot e n t i a l risk un gr aded ( I nter i m per i od agr eed by TLA, R C , H e al t h )

Yes

St ep 8: R e assessmen t R eas s e s s r e gul ar l y Ye s St ep 4 I s t her e ex i s t i ng m i cr obi ol ogi cal dat a ( f i v e y ear s ’ data) ?

Ye s
St ep 7: M odi f y gr ade to r e fl ec t c ondi t i ons w h en

peopl e ar e sw i m m i ng No Ar e t her e s t r a tegi es that eff

e c t i v el y di s c our age peopl e fr om bathi ng dur i ng p e r i ods of

hi gh r i s k ? M odi f y i ng a beac h gr ade i s a m anagem ent opti on, ap pl i c abl e w hen r equi r e m ent s i n thes e gui del i nes ar e m e t

Figure D1: Re creati onal wat er-quality dec i sion tree

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D3The fol l o wi n g not es desc ri be th e p r ocess an d decisions requi r ed to c o m p lete each of the st eps descri bed i n Fi gu re D 1

.
Step 1: I s the wate r body us ed for c o ntac t
recr e a ti on ?
Beaches ar e c o nside r ed either contact rec r eation
areas (well use d ) or not c o ntact recreation ar eas (no t well u s ed ). Th e gu id elines app l y to contact recreat i o n ar ea s, an d i n vol ve gra d i n g an d
m oni t o ri ng

. Th is d o e s n o t mean water quality can b e allowed to dete riorate at ungra ded beac hes

. Rath er, it is exp ectedt h at th e g u i d e lin es will b e rigorously applied at gr a d ed beaches, while the
m onitoring re quire dan d ass o ciated costs m a y not be justified at ungra d ed be aches. Wh ich b each e s are m o n ito red will b e a l o cal deci si o n , an d s h o u l d be deci d e d ona si t e sp ecific b a sis by th e lo cal au tho r ities (reg i o n a l
or

l o cal a u t h ori ty , or M e dical Officer of Heal th) depe n d i n g ont h e l o cal rel e vance of t h e si t e

.
Step 2: Are c a tc hm ent ri sk fac t or s p r es ent?
Th e ‘risk factors’ refer t o acti v ities in th e catchm e nt that may result in faecal
co n t am in atio n o f a recreational water site. To assess the catchm e nt risk facto r s, th e Catchmen t Assessm en t Check list sho u l d b e co m p leted

. S

ee N o te H(iv) fo r th e Ca tchmen t Assessmen t Ch ecklist fo r ma rin e recrea tion a l w a ters. ‘Yes’ responses t o t h e ‘Mi c ro bi ol ogi cal Hazards’ (Part D) sec tio n o f th e ch eck li st sh o w th e presence of catch m e n t risk fac t ors tha t affec t , or are likely to affect, re creat i onal water qual ity

. Step 3: I s the re a w a stew ater tre a tm ent p l a n t pr es en t?

W a s t ewa t er

trea tme n t pro c e s s e s of ten eff e c t iv ely
r e duc e mic r ob ia l ind i ca tor s suc h as en tero cocc i bu t
are l e ss effecti v e at r e m o v i ng pathogen s such as
v i ru ses. Th e r e sult m a y b e an alter e d p a t hog en- t oind i ca tor ra

tio co mp ar ed to th a t of un tr ea ted wa s t e. T h is m eans t h at i f

t

h ere i s a wa ste w at er t r e a tment p l an t presen t , pathogen s m a y still b e presen t ev en wh en ind i ca tor le ve ls ar e ve r y

low. S

ee N o te H(iii ) fo r C a tchmen t Assessmen t Ch ecklist Ba se Con d ition s – discu ssion on ri sk

a ssessmen t fo r tertia ry trea ted efflu en t. A ‘Yes ’ an s w e r in this box m eans t h e wastewater tre a tm ent plant discharges direct ly to th e recreation a l water, or to an ar ea where di scharge wat e r m a y reasona b l y be ex pect e d t o be carried to a recreatio n a l water site b y tid es, currents or stre a m s.

Step 4: I s the re e x is ti ng mi cr obi o l o gi c a l da ta?
Id eally th ere sh ou ld b e 100 data p o i n t s 6 or greater collecte d ove r t h e pre v i ous fi ve y ears, alth o ugh it is feasib le to con s id er g r ad ing wi th a minim u m of 2 0 dat a poi nt s c o l l ect ed o v er o n e ful l bath i n g s e aso n

. The dat a sh oul d n o rm all y be onent e roc o cci . T h e gra d i n g sh o u l d be
co nsid eredas i n terim u n til five years o f d a ta have bee n c o l l ect ed.
No te: Fo llo w-up sa mp les fro m an a l ert o r act i o n m o de re spo n se sh o u l d not be i n cl u d e d

i n the data used to gene rate an MAC (see Ste p 6)

. I f

u s in g t

h e s o ft

w a r e p r o v id e d

b

y th e M i n i

s t

r y fo r th e En vironmen t to g e n e rate g ra d e s, fo llowu p samp les sh ou ld b e ma nua lly remo ved from th e da taset. S

ee N o te H(xv) fo r d e ta ils o n th e so ftwa r e avai la bl e to an al yse res u l t s

.

6 Data points are th e resu lts of samples collected.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D4S t e p 5: Ca n you co lle ct m i cr ob io log i ca l da ta?
If m i crobi ol o g i cal dat ai s req u i red, t h e sam p l i ng pr o g ram m e shoul d c o l l ect at

l east 20 dat a p o i n t s ove r t h e peri o d o f great est re c r eat i onal use

. Th is will n o rmally b e th e su mmer b a th i n g season , bu t m a y v a ry with t h e typ e s o f recreation a l act iv ity m o st co mm o n in th e area.

Step 6: D e t ermini n g a gra d e
In ord e r t o g r ad e a recreatio nal water bo d y , th e au tho r ity m u st estab lish :

•

• th e Mi cro b i o lo gi cal As sess me nt C

a t e gory (MAC ) : an M A C cat eg ory (r angi ng f r om A to D) is estab lish e dfro m th e ex istin g or col l ect ed m i cr obi ol o g i cal dat a ; defi ni t i ons fo r the di ffe ren t catego r ies are give n i n Table D1. th e San ita ry Insp ection Ca tego ry (SIC) : th is category is either Very High, High, M ode rat e , L o w or Ve ry L o w , an d i s determ ined for a s p ecific wat e r body by usi n g t h e S I C f l ow c h ar t

. S

ee N o te H(iv) fo r th e San ita ry In sp ection Ca tego ry flo w ch art fo r ma ri n e w a ters. The i n f o rm ation fo r usin g t h e flo w c h art s h o u ld
co m e fro m th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Ch ecklist (CAC) , Part D, an d m a y requi re f u rther in v e stig ation t o estab lish the p r i n cip a l so urce of cont am i n at i on. Det e r m i n i ng a grade i nvol ves usi ng bot h t

h e MAC and the S I C (see Tab l e D2). A grade is est a b l ished on t h e basi s of fi ve y ears’ dat a

. Thereaft e r recal c ulati on of t h e grade m ay be done annual l y usi ng t h e previ ous fi ve y e ars’ dat a

.
Step 7: Mo di fy i n g a g r ade Modifying a beach gra d e is a m a nage m e nt
o p tion , app licab le wh en requ i r em en ts in th ese gui del i n es ha v e bee n m e t

. Beach gra d es may be m odified whe r e m a nagem e nt i n t e rve n t i ons canbe dem onstr at ed t o ef fect i v el y d i scou rage rec r e a t i onal u s e du r i ng occasional an d predictable c o ntamination events . T h e m odi fied gra d e s h ould re flect the water

– qu ality con d ition s t h e p u b lic are u s u a lly exp o se d t o , an d be veri fi e d b y t h e M e di cal Officer of Heal th. S

ee N o te H(xii) fo r mo re i n forma t i o n on
mo di f y i n g be ac h gra d es

.

S t e p 8: R e a sse s s m e nt Reassess on a five-yearly basis, or s o one r i f si gni fi cant c h ange occ u rs. S u ch c h an ges wi l l be reflected in n e w info rm atio n in p arts A, B , C and D of t h e C a tchm ent Assessm en t Ch eck list. Exam pl es of si gni fi cant c h an ge wo ul d be: altered catchm e nt char acterist i cs or land use •

•

• si gni fi cant l y hi ghe r or l o wer m i crobi ol ogi ca l i ndi cat o r l e vel s maj o r in frastructu re wo rk s affectin g waterq u a lity p aram e ters. Beaches gra d e dVery Good will al m o st always
co m p ly with the gu id elin e val u es for recreati o n, and the r e are few s o urces of faecal cont am i n at i on i n t h e cat c h m e nt . C o nseq ue n t l y th ere is a low risk o f illn ess fro m b a th in g. Beaches gra d e d Very Poor are in catc h m e nts with si gnificant sources of fae cal contam ination,
an d th ey rarely p a ss th e gu id elin es. Th e risk of illness from bathing at these beaches is high, and swi m m i ng i s n o t rec o m m e nde d. F o r t h e r e m a in in g b each e s ( G oo d, Fai r an d Po or ) it is
recomm ended that wee k ly m onito rin g be carried
o u t du ri n g th e b a th ing season. Th e pu b lic will be inform ed when guideli n e values are exceede d and s w imming is not recomm ended.
Th e fo llowing tab l e lists th e criteria th at d e fi n e th e Microb io l o g i cal Assessm e n t Catego ry (M AC ) , base d on fi ve y ears ’ hi st ori cal dat a

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D5Table D1: Microbiol ogic a l Assessme n t Cate gory defini tions for m a ri ne waters

A Sam p le 95 p e rce n tile ≤ 40 entero cocci/100 mL
B Sam p le 95 p e rcentile 41–200 ent e rococci/100 m L
C Sam p le 95 p e rcentile 201–500 en teroco cci /100 m L
D Sam p le 95 p e rcentile > 500 ent e r o cocci/100 m L
Sour ce: WHO 2001. Note: The H azen m e thod is used for calculating the 95 percentiles. 7

7 It is important to note there are s ever al ways to calculate percentiles. Each uses a different formula, gene rating different resul t s. The Hazen method has been chosen for these gui delines, as it tends to be about the ‘ m iddle’ of all the options. S

ee N o te H(v) f o r more in f

o rma tio n on t h e Microbi ologic al Assess me nt Category for marine recreational w a ters.

The S a ni t a r y In sp ec ti on C a te g o r y ( S I C ) The SIC al l o w s t h e pri n ci pal m i crobi ol ogi ca l contam ination from faecal sources to be i d e n tified and assigns a c a tegory according t o risk. T h is categ ory is th en co m b in ed with th e M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory (M A C ) t o d e term in e a Suitab ility fo r Recreatio n Grade fo r each site in the programm e. Sources of human faecal c o nta m ination ide n tified by the SIC m a y, as a res u lt of treatm e nt, be
co nsid er ed of l o w pub lic h eal th ris k

. T h ere may, h o wev e r, still b e cu ltu ral or aesth e tic ob j ecti o n s to
suc h faecal contamination. Th is category is eith er Very Hig h , Hi g h , M o d e rate, Low o r V e ry Lo w, an d is foun d fo r a sp ecif i c wat e r b ody by use of t h e SIC fl o w c h art

. T h e in fo rm atio n fo r u s i n g th e flow ch art shou ldco m e fro m Part D o f th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Checklist (C A C ) an d m a y requi re f u rther in v e stig ation t o estab lish the p r i n cip a l so urce of cont am i n at i on. S

ee N o te H(iii ) fo r d e ta ils o n h o w to est a b lish a S

a n ita ry In sp ectio n C a tego ry.

S u i tab ility for R e cr eat i on Gr ad e (S FRG)
SFRG s ar e V e ry G ood , Go od , Fair , Po or , and V e ry Po or. T o fi n dt h e a p p r op ri at e gra d i n g fo r t h e recreational wa ter body, locat e the box i n t h e Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e in Tab l e D2 th at
co in cid e s with b o t h th e MAC an d SIC fo r th e wat e r b ody

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D6Table D2: Suitability for re creati on gr ade for m a rine sites
Microbiological Assess m e nt Category Indicator counts (a s percentiles – see Table D1) Susceptibili ty to f a eca l influence
A ≤ 40 enterococci/ 100 m L B 41–2 00 enter o cocci/ 100 m L C 201– 500 enter o coc c i/ 100 m L D > 500 enter o cocci/ 100 m L Except i onal circu m s tances ***

VeryL o w VeryGood VeryGood Follow Up** Follow Up** L o w VeryGood Good Fair Follow Up** M oder a t e F o l l o w U p * G o o d Fair Poor High Follow Up* Follow Up* Poor VeryPoor Sanitary I n spection Categor y

Ver yHigh Follow Up* Follow Up* Follow Up* Ver yPoor Exceptional circu m s t ances
Notes * Indicates unexpected results requirin g investigation (reassess SI C and M A C). If after reass e ss m e nt the SFR G is still ‘follow up’, then assign a conservative grade (i. e . the f i rst grade to the right of the ‘follow up’ in the sa m e SIC row). This follows the preca utionar y principle applied in public health.

** Im plies non-sewag e sources of indicators, and this shoul d be verified. If afte r verification the SFRG is still ‘follow up’, then assign a conservative grade (i.e . the f i rst gr ade af te r ‘follow up’ i n the sa m e MAC c o lu m n ).

*** Exceptional circu m s t ances: relate to known periods o f higher ri sk for a graded beach , such as during a sewer rupture or an outbr eak of a potentiallywaterbor ne pathogen in the co m m unityof the r ecrea tional ar ea catch m e nt. Under such cir c u m stan ces a gr ading woul d not apply until the episode has abated. (For exa m pl e: if M A C = C and SIC = Moderate , then Su itability for Rec r ea tion Grade = F a ir. )

S

ee N o te H(vi) fo r mo re in forma tion on th e S

u itab ility fo r Recrea tion Gra d e fo r ma rin e recreational w a ters. S

ee N o te H(xiii) fo r p e rcen tile gu id elin e va lu es fo r
seaw at er

. S

ee N o te H(xv) fo r i n fo rma tion o n so ftware to u s e f

o r gra d i n g be ache s.



### D.4 Monitored beaches: surveillance, alert and action modes
So far we ha ve l o o k e dat deci di n g whi c h bea c hes t o g r a d e, an d h o w t o m oni t o r a beac h by t a ki ng sam p les. Nex t we n e edto look at p u tting t h ese t ogeth e r i n a p r ocess t o m a nag e th e di ffe re nt scenari o s t h at may arise. These guidelines propose a three-tier m a n a ge m e n t fram e wor k

bas e d on bact e r i o l ogi cal i n di cat o r
v a lu es: i. su rv eillan ce

– i n vo lv es rou tine (e.g . week ly)
sam p l i ng of ba ct eri o l o gi cal l e vel s ii. alert – requ ires in v e stig atio n o f th e cau s es of the elevate dle vels an d incre a s ed sam p ling t o enable t h e risks to bathe r s t o be m o re accurately asse ssed iii. actio n

– requ ires th e l o cal au t h ority and h ealth au tho r ities to warn t h e p u b lic th at t h e beach is c onsi d ered uns u itable for recreati o n.

Su r v eill ance (rou ti ne m o ni tori n g ) Unde r the surveillance co ndition, beache s graded Go o d , Fai r or Po or ha ve t h e pot e n t i a l t o be affected by fae cal contam ination eve n ts, and
rou tin e m o n itoring (e.g. weekly sa m p lin g ) m u st continue (see Box 1). Guidan ce on whe n an d wh ere t o sam p le can b e fo undin section D.2 , with fu rthe r in fo rm ation inN o te H( i).

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D7A l ert (am b e r ) mod e : s i ng le s a mp le s The alert m ode is triggere d when a si ngle bacteriol ogical sam p le exceeds a pre d eterm i ned val u e. Un de r a l ert m ode, sam p l i n g f r eq ue nc y sho u l d be i n c r e a sed t o dai l y , and cat chm e nt
assessm ent data refe rre d t o fo r pote n tial faec al
sou r ces

. A san i t a ry sur v ey s h oul d t h e n be
u n d e rtak en to p o s itiv ely id entify th e sources of cont am i n at i on and th e p o t e nt i a l m a nagem e nt opt i o ns

. S

ee N o te H(iv) fo r th e San ita ry In sp ection Ca tego ry flo w ch art fo r ma ri n e recrea tion a l waters.

A c t i on (r ed) mo de : con s e c u t iv e sam p le s The act i o n m ode i s tr i gge re d whe n t w o co nsecu tiv e sing le sam p les (with in 24 ho urs) exceed a pre - determined value (see B o x 1 for gui del i n e val u e s ). U n der t h e a c t i on m ode, t h e lo cal au t h ority an d h ealth au tho r ities warn the public, using a p propriate m e thods, that t h e beach is un su itab l e for recreation andarran g e fo r th e local aut h ority to erect si gn s a t th e bea c h war n i n g th e pub lic of a h ealth d a ng er. S

ee N o te H(xvi ) fo r in fo rma tio n on repo rting to th e pu bl i c

. See N o te H(xvi i) for ma nag em en t respon ses to exceedances

.



### D.5 Marine bat h ing survei llance, alert and action levels
The m a ri ne bat h i n g gui del i n es are s u m m ari s ed i n Bo x 1 . Th ey are b a sed on keep ing illn ess risk s associated with recreati ona l water u s e to less th an about 2%.
S

ee App e nd ix 2 for d e ta ils on ho w g u i d e lin e va lu es have bee n deve l ope d.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D8

### Box 1: Surve illance , alert and action leve ls for mar i ne w a ters

Sur v eill ance/ Gre e n Mode : No si ngl e sam p le gre a te r t h a n 140 en tero cocci/ 100 mL

.
• C o nt i n u e r o ut i n e (e

. g . w e e k l y ) m oni t o ri n g

.
A l ert /A mb e r Mod e : Si ngl e sam p le great er t h a n 140 en ter o co cc i/100 mL

.
• In crease sam p l i ng t o daily (i nitial sam p les will b e u s ed t o confi r m if a prob lem ex ist s ).

• C o n s u l t th e CA C to a s s i s tin id en t i f y in g p o s s i b l e so u r c e s

.
• Und e r t ak e a s a n itar y surve y , a nd id en tif y sour ce s of con t amin a tion.

Ac ti o n / R e d M o de : Two consecuti v e si ngle sam p les (resam p le wi t h i n 24 hours of recei vi ng t h e fi rst sam p le
r e su lts, o ras soon as i s pract icab le) g r eat er t h an 280 en ter o co cc i/100 mL

.
• In crease sam p l i ng t o daily (i nitial sam p les will b e u s ed t o confi r m if a prob lem ex ist s ).

• C o n s u l t th e CA C to a s s i s tin id en t i f y in g p o s s i b l e so u r c e s

.
• Und e r t ak e a s a n itar y surve y , a nd id en tif y sour ce s of con t amin a tion.

• Erectw a rn i ng si gn s.

• Infor m pub lic through t h e med i a t h at a public h e alt h p r oblem ex i s ts.

Notes: E ither of the following m e tho d s m a y be used to enu m er ate enter o cocci: E n ter o lert TM or E P A M e thod 1600. * For national con sistency it is reco mm ended that accredited l aboratories be used f o r m i c r obi ological tests (e.g. IA NZ ac creditation). Sa m p les to test co m p lia nce should be o v er the bathing season app r opriate to that loc a lity (a t le ast 1 No ve m b e r to 31 Marc h) and sa m p ling tim e s should be r est r icted to between 0800 hour s and 1800 h our s. * U S E P A N a ti on al C e ntre f o r E n vir o nm ental P u bl ica t i o n s an d I n fo rm atio n (N CE PI), 11 0 29 K e nw o o dRoa d , Ci nc in na ti, O H 4 52 42, U S A

.


### D.6 Conditions of using the guidelines

•

• •

• These gui deli nes must not be used as a meas ure of suitability for recreation when there is a
m a jor out break of a pot ent i a ll y wat e rborne diseas e in the c o mm un ity, and that
co m m

uni ty ’s sewage cont ri but es t o t h e
m i crobi ol ogi cal cont am i n ati on t o t h e wat e r. Such condi t i ons const i t ute ‘excepti onal ci rcu m st ances’. The gui del i n es do not appl y then because the rela tionship between indica tor organi sm s and di sease was der i ved when t h ere were no kn own out breaks of w a t e rborne diseas es in the co mmunity. W h en there is suc h an outbreak, health ri sks may be increased because of a higher-than- usual ratio of pathogen concentration to indicators in the water. Im pl em ent i ng th e gui del i n es e m phasi ses th e need and im portance for trad i tio n a l san itary surveys, i

. e. a catchm e nt assessm ent. C o m p li ance wit h

t

h e gui deli nes generall y indica tes tha t a beach is su itab l e for
recrea tion. There are excep tions howe v er. For exam pl e, effl uent m a y

be t r eat e d t o a lev e l wh ere th e in d i ca to r b act e r ial lev e ls ar e very l o w, but ot her pat hogens such as vi ruses or prot ozoa m ay stil l be present at

hi gh l e vel s

. The assessm e n t of such condi t i ons shoul d be consi d ered duri ng t h e procedur e for gradi ng a beach. It is im p o r tan t th at water m a n a g e rs use th ese gui del i n es j udi ci ousl y , an d caref u l l y consider whe r e they can be a p plied.

These g u i d el i n es are n o t i n t e nde d to be use d as th e ba sis f o r esta b lish i n g cond itio n s fo r d i

scha rg e co nsen ts, a lth ough they may be us ed

as a c o mponent for decision maki ng. See t h e in trod u c tion o f th ese gu id elines fo r d i scu ssi o n
on w h at t

h i

s d o c ume n t c o vers.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### D9

## SECTION E: Microbiological Guidelines for Fresh w at ers
Th e fram e wo rk in th ese gu idelin es u s es b o t h beach gra d ing and guideli n e values . Beac h gra d es provide the basic m e a n s t o assess su itab ility fo r recreatio n ov er ti m e , u s in g a com b ination of knowledg e of beach catchm e nt characte r istics and m i crobi ological inform ation gath e r ed o v er pre v i o us y e ar s. Si n g l e -sam pl e resu lts are co mp aredag ain s t gu id elin e v a l u es, to hel p wat e r m a nage rs det e rm ine whe n man a g e m e n t in terv en tio n is req u i red. Th e gui del i n e val u e s t h at have bee n deci de d on ar e summ arised in E.5.

Th roug hout th is document t h e term ‘b e a c h ’ re fe rs t o b o th m a ri ne an d fr es hw ater r e cre ati o nal w a te r si tes
.



### E.1 Designation of a cont act recreation area People are ge nerally free t o s w im where v er they like around Ne w Zealan d’ s m a ny beac hes , b u t i t
wo ul d be i m possi bl e t o m oni t o r t h em al l

. Criteria for i d e n tifying which beache s to
m o n ito r will vary fro m reg i on to reg i on , bu t will gene ral l y be ba sed o n usage , a v ai l abl e inform ation and the res o urces available t o the
m o n ito rin g au t h ority. Th e Mi n i stry fo r th e En vi ro nm ent and M i ni stry of Heal th
recomm end that the be aches to be incl ude d in th e m o n ito r i ng pr og r a mm e be agreed by all agencies invol ved in t h e programme and doc um ent e d i nt h e regi onal p r ot oc ol

.



### E.2 Sampling r i vers and l a kes
Th e fo llowing in fo rm atio n is p r ov id ed to h e l p devel o p a sam p l i n g p r og ram m e for m oni t o r i ng ri ver s an d beac hes. Sa mp ling p eriod
Sam p les sh ou ld b e co llected du ring t h e b a thin g season , or wh en th e water b o d y is u s ed fo r contact recreati o n. For rive rs this m a y exclude peri ods of high flow, duri ng whic h hazardous riv e r cond itio ns wo u l d p r oh ibit b a th ing

. Th e bathing season will vary accordi n g to l o cation, b u t will g e n e rally ex ten d from 1 Nov e m b er to 31 M a rc h. Sa m p li ng s h oul d t a ke pl ace bet w een 8 am and 6 pm

. S

ee N o te H(i) f o r d e ta ils o n sa mp ling times a n d periods.

Bacteri ol ogi c al indic a tors , catchme n t as se ss me n t an d sin g l e s a m p les The pathogens occurri ng in c o ntaminated fres h water ar e the sam e as those occ u rring i n marine wate rs, except t h at s u rvival tim es in fres h water ar e likely to be longer, es pecially for pr ot oz oan cy st s (e. g

. Gi ar di a and Cryp to spo r id ium ) an d vi r u ses. E. co li is t h e pre f er

red i n di c a t o r or gani sm for f

r esh w at ers , although there may be exce ptions (e .g. in p r ox imity to la rg e waste stab i lisatio n pon d out fal l s ). Ent e roc o cci s h o u l d not be use d because som e enterococci can m u ltiply from natural sources , such as the de cay of leaf material. This means that e n teroc o cci levels can b e v e ry h i gh ev en in pristin e waters, bu t th is
m a y not nec e ss ari l y i ndi cat e h i gh l e vel s of pat h oge ns

. Type of sa mpling progra m me The guidelines rec o mmend a syste m atic rando m - sa m p li n g reg i m e . Gen e rally th is m ean s sam p les sh ou ld b e co llected week ly, reg a rd less of the weathe r. T h ere m a y be exce ptions if
co nd itio ns p r esen t a h ealth andsafety h azard, in whi c h case sa m p l e s shoul d b e col l ect ed as s o o n after the progra mm ed tim e as possible.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E1Sa mp ling d e pt h
Sam p l e s sho u l d be t a ke n at a

p p r oxi m a t e ly 30 cm below t h e s u rface, where the de pth of the water is app r ox im a t ely 1 m e t r e. See not e H( i i

) f

o r t e c hni ques f o r t a ki n g an d

an al ysi n g s a m p l e s.



### E.3 Grading a freshw ater site
The res u lts we obtain from microbiol ogical
sam p l i ng u nde r a m oni t o ri n g pr o g ram m e are onl y one as pec t of t h e pr ocess

. We al s o need t o gra d e t h e site we ar e m onitoring. T h ere are two
com pone nt s t o gra d i n g fres h w a t e r si t e s: th e San ita ry Insp ection Ca tego ry (SIC ), whi c h gene rat e s a m easure of th e susce p tibility of a water body to faecal
co n t am in atio n •

• hi st ori cal m i crobi ol o g i cal res u l t s , whi c h gene rat e a Mi crobi ol o g i c al A ssessme n t Ca tego ry (M A C ). This p r o v i d es a measu r em en t of th e actu a l water q u a lity ov er ti m e

. The t w o com b ined gi ve an overall Su ita b ility fo r Recreation Grade ( SFR G ) , w h i c h desc ri bes t h e g e n e ral co nd itio n of a site at an y g i v e n tim e, base d onb o th r i sk an d i n di cat or bact eri a co u n t s

. The SIC, MAC and SFRG are explained below.
No te: Wh erea s b e fore th e gu i d elin es were no t applicable whe r e a site received tre a ted sew age , th e grad ing system no w a llo w s an a ssessm e nt o f th e h e a lth risk p r esen t a t a site a fter eva l ua tin g the effectiveness of t h e treat m ent proces ses.

As se ssi n g a fr eshw ater si te Th e recreational water-qu ality d ecision tree (Fi g ure E 1 ) an d acc om pany i n g descri pt i o n s o u tlin e t h e p r ocess th at will leadto grad ing a site. All freshwater sites will h a v e to go th ro ugh th is pro cess, wh ich help s to id en tify th e i n f o rm at i on ne eded i n o r de r t o gra d e a si t e

. Co llect ing bac k g r oun d in fo rmat i o n As m u ch i n fo rmatio n as is feasib le abou t the site sh ou ld b e co llectedto m a k e th e assessm en t of ris k -c ont ributing fact ors as accurate as p o s sib l e. So urces of info rm at io n will v ary fro m reg i o nto reg i on

. Gat h eri n g th is inform atio n m a y i nvol v e a ran g e of age n c i es (heal t h , wat e r and se wera ge i n dustries; district, city, regional
co un cils), wh ich will h a v e access to d i fferen t in fo rm atio n fo r th e sam e site catch m e n t

. R e l e vant i n f o r

m at i on i n cl u d e s dr ai na ge pl an s, si t e m a ps, p r e v i ous seas on ’s m oni t o ri ng res u l t s , and conse n t a p plications. T h e purpose of the d ecision tree is to p r ov ide a logical course that allo ws t h e respo n s i b le au tho r i t y to m a k e defe nsi b l e deci si ons o n w h et h e r or n o t t o g r a d e a p articu l ar water bod y.
The fol l o wi n g not es desc ri be th e p r ocess an d decisions requi r ed to c o m p lete each of the st eps descri bed i n Fi gu re E 1

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E2St ep 1 Is the w a ter body us ed f o r c ontac t r e c r eati on?

Co mp le te Ca tc h m e n t A ssessment

C h eckli s t

(CA C )

St ep 2 Ar e c a tc hm ent

ri sk fa cto r s pr es ent?

St ep 3 Is ther e a w a s t ew ater t r eatm ent pl ant

pr esent ?

St ep 6: D e t e rmi n i n g a Grad e

Mi cro b i o l o g i cal A sse ssmen t C a t e go ry (MA C ); S a n i t a r y In sp ect io n C a t e g o ry (S I C ); E s t abl i s h gr adi ng f r om Su it ab il it y f o r R ecreat i o n Grad e (SF R G ) ta b l e Yes

Yes

Yes Ar e ther e r eas ons f o r gr a d i ng t h i s

beac h? Lo w risk un g r aded ( R eas s es s i n fi v e y ear s or w h en c hange oc c u r s ) U n g r aded ( R eas s e s s i f usage c h anges ) No

No No

No Yes

No St ep 5 C a n y ou c o l l ec t micro b io l o g i ca l data? No Pot e n t i a l risk un gr aded ( I nter i m per i od agr eed by TLA, R C , H e al t h )

Yes

St ep 8: R e assessmen t R eas s e s s r e gul ar l y Ye s St ep 4 I s t her e ex i s t i ng m i cr obi ol ogi cal dat a ( f i v e y ear s ’ data) ?

Ye s
St ep 7: M odi f y gr ade to r e fl ec t c ondi t i ons w h en

peopl e ar e sw i m m i ng No Ar e t her e s t r a tegi es that eff

e c t i v el y di s c our age peopl e fr om bathi ng dur i ng p e r i ods of

hi gh r i s k ? M odi f y i ng a beac h gr ade i s a m anagem ent opti on, ap pl i c abl e w hen r equi r e m ent s i n thes e gui del i nes ar e m e t

Figure E 1 : Re creati onal water-qua lity dec i sion tree (duplicated)

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E3Step 1: I s the wate r body us ed for c o ntac t
recr e a ti on ?

Beaches ar e c o nside r ed either contact rec r eation
areas (well use d ) or not c o ntact recreation ar eas (no t well u s ed ). Th e gu id elines app l y to contact recreat i o n ar ea s, an d i n vol ve gra d i n g an d
m oni t o ri ng

. Th is d o e s n o t mean water quality can b e allowed to dete riorate at ungra ded beac hes

. Rath er, it is exp ectedt h at th e g u i d e lin es will b e rigorously applied at gr a d ed beaches, while the
m onitoring re quire dan d ass o ciated costs m a y not be justified at ungra d ed be aches.
Wh ich b each e s are m o n ito red will b e a l o cal deci si o n , an d s h o u l d be deci d e d ona si t e sp ecific b a sis by th e lo cal au tho r ities (reg i o n a l
or

l o cal a u t h ori ty , or M e dical Officer of Heal th) depe n d i n g ont h e l o cal rel e vance of t h e si t e

.
Step 2: Are c a tc hm ent ri sk fac t or s p r es ent?

Th e ‘risk factors’ refer t o acti v ities in th e catchm e nt that may result in faecal
co n t am in atio n o f a recreational water site. To assess the catchm e nt risk facto r s, th e Catchmen t Assessm en t Check list sho u l d b e co m p leted

. S

ee N o te H(vii) fo r th e Ca tchmen t Assessmen t Ch ecklist fo r fresh w a t er recrea tio na l a r ea s. ‘Yes’ responses t o t h e ‘Mi c ro bi ol ogi cal Hazards’ (Part D) sec tio n o f th e ch eck li st sh o w th e presence of catch m e n t risk fac t ors tha t affec t , or are likely to affect, re creat i onal water qual ity

. Step 3: I s the re a w a stew ater tre a tm ent p l a n t pr es en t?

W a s t ewa t er

trea tme n t pro c e s s e s of ten eff e c t iv ely
r e duc e mic r ob ia l ind i ca tor s suc h as en tero cocc i bu t
are l e ss effecti v e at r e m o v i ng pathogen s such as
v i ru ses. Th e r e sult m a y b e an alter e d p a t hog en- t oind i ca tor ra

tio co mp ar ed to th a t of un tr ea ted wa s t e. T h is m eans t h at i f

t

h ere i s a wa ste w at er t r e a tment p l an t presen t , pathogen s m a y still b e presen t ev en wh en ind i ca tor le ve ls ar e ve r y

low.
S

ee N o te H(iii ) fo r C a tchmen t Assessmen t Ch ecklist Ba se Con d ition s – discu ssion on ri sk

a ssessmen t fo r tertia ry trea ted efflu en t.

A ‘Yes ’ ans w er in thi s box m eans the waste w at er t r eat m e nt pl ant di sc ha r g es di rec t ly t o t h e rec r eati o nal wat e r, or to a n area whe r e disc ha rge
w a ter

m a y r e ason ab ly b e expected to be carried to a
rec r eati o nal wat e r site by ti des , cu rr ent s o r st rea m s.

Step 4: I s the re e x is ti ng mi cr obi o l o gi c a l da ta?

Ideal ly t h ere sh oul d be 100 dat a poi nt s 8 or grea t e r col l ected over the previ ous fi ve y e ars, al t hough i t is feas ib l e to co n s id er g r ad in g with a min i mum of 20 dat a poi nt s col l ected over one ful l bat h i n g season. The dat a shoul d nor m a ll y be on E. co li

. The gradi ng sh oul d be consi d ered as i n terim u n t i l fi ve y e ars of dat a have been co l l ect e d.
No te: Fo llo w-up sa mp les fro m an a l ert o r act i o n m o de re spo n se sh o u l d not be i n cl u d e d

i n the data used to gene rate an MAC (see Ste p 6)

. I f

u s in g t

h e s o ft

w a r e p r o v id e d

b

y th e M i n i

s t

r y fo r th e En vironmen t to g e n e rate g ra d e s, fo llowu p samp les sh ou ld b e ma nua lly remo ved from th e da taset. S

ee N o te H(xv) fo r i n fo rma tion o n th e so ftware avai la bl e to an al yse res u l t s

.

8 Data points are th e resu lts of samples collected.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E4Step 5: Ca n you co llect mi crobi o l o g i ca l data?
If m i crobi ol o g i cal dat ai s req u i red, t h e sam p l i ng pr o g ram m e shoul d c o l l ect at

l east 20 dat a p o i n t s ove r t h e peri o d o f great est re c r eat i onal use

. Th is will n o rmally b e th e su mmer b a th i n g season , bu t m a y v a ry with t h e typ e s o f recreation a l act iv ity m o st co mm o n in th e area.

Step 6: D e t ermini n g a gra d e
In ord e r t o g r ad e a recreatio nal water bo d y , th e au tho r ity m u st estab lish :

•

• th e Mi cro b i o lo gi cal As sess me nt C

a t e gory (MAC ) : an M A C cat eg ory (r angi ng f r om A to D) is estab lish e dfro m th e ex istin g or col l ect ed m i cr obi ol o g i cal dat a ; defi ni t i ons fo r the di ffe ren t catego r ies are give n i n Table E 1

. th e San ita ry Insp ection Ca tego ry (SIC) : th is category is either Very High, High, M ode rat e , L o w or Ve ry L o w , an d i s determ ined for a s p ecific wat e r body by usi n g t h e S I C f l ow c h ar t

. S

ee N o te H(vii) fo r th e Sa n itary In spectio n Ca tego ry flo w ch arts fo r rivers an d la kes. The i n f o rm ation fo r usin g t h e flo w c h art s h o u ld
co m e fro m th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Ch ecklist (CAC) , Part D, an d m a y requi re f u rther in v e stig ation t o estab lish the p r i n cip a l so urce of cont am i n at i on. Det e r m i n i ng a grade i nvol ves usi ng bot h t

h e MAC and the S I C (see Tab l e E 2 : Suitability fo r Recre a tion Grade m a trix). A grade is es tablished on t h e basi s of fi ve y e ars’ dat a . Thereaft e r recalculation of the grade m a y be done annual l y usi ng t h e previ ous fi ve y ears’ dat a

.
Step 7: Mo di fy i n g a g r ade Modifying a beach gra d e is a m a nage m e nt
o p tion , app licab le wh en requ i r em en ts in th ese gui del i n es ha v e bee n m e t

. Beach gra d es may be m odified whe r e m a nagem e nt i n t e rve n t i ons canbe dem onstr at ed t o ef fect i v el y d i scou rage rec r e a t i onal u s e du r i ng occasional an d predictable c o ntamination events . T h e m odi fied gra d e s h ould re flect the water qu ality co nd itio ns th e pu b lic are u s u a ll y exp o se d t o , an d be veri fi e d b y t h e M e di cal Officer of Heal th. S

ee N o te H(xii) fo r mo re i n forma t i o n on
mo di f y i n g be ac h gra d es

.

S t e p 8: R e a sse s s m e nt Reassess on a five-yearly basis, or s o one r i f si gni fi cant c h ange occ u rs. S u ch c h an ges wi l l be reflected in n e w info rm atio n in p arts A, B , C and D of t h e C a tchm ent Assessm en t Ch eck list. Exam pl es of si gni fi cant c h an ge wo ul d be: altered catchm e nt char acterist i cs or land use •

•

• si gni fi cant l y hi ghe r or l o wer m i crobi ol ogi ca l i ndi cat o r l e vel s maj o r in frastructu re wo rk s affectin g waterq u a lity p aram e ters. Beaches gra d e dVery Good will al m o st always
co m p ly with the gu id elin e val u es for recreati o n, and the r e are few s o urces of faecal cont am i n at i on i n t h e cat c h m e nt . C o nseq ue n t l y th ere is a low risk o f illn ess fro m b a th in g. Beaches gra d e d Very Poor are in catc h m e nts with si gnificant sources of fae cal contam ination,
an d th ey rarely p a ss th e gu id elin es. Th e risk of illness from bathing at these beaches is high, and swi m m i ng i s n o t rec o m m e nde d. F o r t h e r e m a in in g b each e s ( G oo d, Fai r an d Po or ) it is
recomm ended that wee k ly m onito rin g be carried
o u t du ri n g th e b a th ing season. Th e pu b lic will be inform ed when guideli n e values are exceede d and s w imming is not recomm ended.

The M i cro bi olog ica l Assessment Cat e gory Th e fo llowing tab l e lists th e criteria th at d e fi n e th e M A C , ba se d onfi ve y ears ’ hi st ori cal dat a

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E5T a bl e E 1 : Mi c r obi o l ogi c a l A ssessmen t Ca t e gor y ( M A C ) defi ni ti o n s
A Sam p le 95 p e rce n tile ≤ 130 Es ch er ichia col i p e r 100 mL B Sam p le 95 p e rcentile 131–260 Es cher ich i a co li per 100 mL C Sam p le 95 p e rcentile 261–550 Es cher ich i a co li per 100 mL D Sam p le 95 p e rce n tile >550 Esch erichia coli per 1 00 mL.
Note: the Haz e n m e thod is used for calculating the perc entiles. 9
S

ee N o te H(viii) fo r mo re i n forma t i o n on t h e Micro b i o l og ica l Assessmen t Ca tego ry for fresh w a t er recrea tio na l

are a s.

9 It is important to note there are sever al ways to calculate percentiles. Each uses a differe nt formula, generating different results. The Hazen method has b een chosen for these guidelines, as it tends to be about the ‘ m iddle’ of all the options. The S a ni t a r y In sp ec ti on C a te g o r y ( S I C ) The SIC al l o w s t h e pri n ci pal m i crobi ol ogi ca l contam ination from faecal sources to be identified and assigns a cate g ory acc ording t o risk . Th is categ ory is th en com b in edwith t h e M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory (M A C ) to d e term in e a Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e for each site in th e p r og ramme. Sources of human faecal c o nta m ination id en tified b y t h e SIC m a y, as a resu lt of tr eatm e nt , be c onsi d ere d o f l o w pu bl i c heal t h ri sk. T h ere m a y , h o we ve r, st i l l be cul t ural or aesthetic objec tions t o s u ch fa ecal cont am i n at i on. Th is category is eith er Very Hig h , Hi g h , M ode rat e , L o w or Ve ry L o w , an d i s f o u n d f o r

a specific water body by use of the SIC flow chart. T h e i n form ation fo r usin g th e f l ow ch ar t sh ou l dco m e fro m Part D o f th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Check list (CAC ) an d m a y r e q u i re fu rthe r i n vest i g at i on t o est abl i s h t h e pri n ci pa l
sou r ce o f c ont a m i n at i on. S ee N o te H(iii ) fo r d e ta il o n ho w to estab lish a S

a n ita ry In sp ectio n C a tego ry.

Th e Su itab ility fo r R e cr eat i on G r ad e SFRG s ar e V e ry G ood , Go od , Fair , Po or an d Very P o or

. To fin dt h e a p p r o p riate gra d in g fo r th e recreation a l water bo d y , lo cate th e box i n th e Su itab ility for Recreati o n Grad e tab l e (Tab le E2 ) th at co in ci d e s with bo th t h e MAC and SIC fo r the wate r b ody

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E6Table E2: Sui tability for Re creati on Grade for fre s hwater sites
Microbiological Assess m e nt Category Indicator counts (a s percentiles – refer Table E1) Susceptibili ty to f a eca l influence
A ≤ 130
E. co li /100 m L B 131– 260
E. co li / 100 m L C 261– 550
E. co li / 100 m L D > 550
E. co li / 100 m L Except i onal circu m s tances ***

VeryL o w VeryGood VeryGood Follow Up** Follow Up** L o w VeryGood Good Fair Follow Up** M oder a t e F o l l o w U p * G o o d Fair Poor High Follow Up* Follow Up* Poor VeryPoor Sanitary I n spection Categor y

Ver yHigh Follow Up* Follow Up* Follow Up* Ver yPoor

E x ceptional cir c u m s t ances***
Notes * I ndicates unexpected r e sults r e quir i n g investigation ( r eassess SI C and MAC)

. ** Im plies non- sewag e sour ces of indi cator s, and this shoul d be ver i fied.

*** Exceptional circu m s t ances: relate to known periods o f higher ri sk for a graded beach , such as during a sewer rupture or an outbr eak of a potentiallywaterbor ne pathogen in the co m m unityof the r ecrea tional ar ea catch m e nt. Under such cir c u m stan ces a gr ading woul d not apply until the episode has abated. S

ee N o te H(ix) fo r mo re in forma tion on th e S u itab ility fo r Recrea tion Gra d e fo r fresh w a t er recrea tiona l area s. S

ee N o te H(xiii) fo r p e rcen tile gu id elin e va lu es fo r fresh w a t er. See N o t e H( xv) f o r i n f

o r

m at i o n on sof t w a r e to use f o r gradi ng be ac hes.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E7

### E.4 Monitored beaches: surveillance, alert and action modes
So far we ha ve l o o k e dat deci di n g whi c h beache s to gra d e, an d how t o m onitor a beac h b y tak i ng sam p les. Nex t we needto loo k at p u tting th ese t o g e t h er in a pro cess t o m a n a ge the di ffe rent s c enari o s that m a y arise. These guidelines pr opo se a three-tier
m a nagem e nt fr am ewor k base d on bacteriol ogical indicator values: i. su rv eillan ce

– i n vo lv es rou tine (e.g

. week ly) sam p li n g of b acteriol ogical le vels ii. alert – requ ires in v e stig atio n o f th e cau s es of the ele v ated levels and i n creased
sam p lin g to enab le th e risks t o b a th ers to be m o re acc ura t ely assessed iii. actio n

– requ ires th e l o cal au t h ority and h ealth au tho r ities to warn t h e p u b lic th at the beac h is conside r ed uns u itable for recreation.

Su r v eill ance (rou ti ne m o ni tori n g ) Unde r the surveillan ce condition, beache s g r ad edG ood , Fair o r Poor h a v e th e po ten tial to be a ffecte dby faecal co ntam ination eve n ts, and
rou tin e m o n itoring (e.g. weekly sa m p lin g ) m u st continue (see Box 2). Guidan ce on whe n an d whe r e t o sam p le can be found in section E

. 2, with furth e r info rm atio n in Note H(i).

A l ert (am b e r ) mod e : s i ng le s a mp le s The alert m ode is triggere d when a si ngle bacteriol ogical sam p le exceeds a pre d eterm i ned val u e. Un de r a l ert m ode, sam p l i n g f r eq ue nc y sho u l d be i n c r e a sed t o dai l y , and cat chm e nt
assessm ent data refe rre d t o fo r pote n tial faec al
sou r ces

. A san i t a ry sur v ey s h oul d t h e n be
u n d e rtak en to p o s itiv ely id entify th e sources of cont am i n at i on and th e p o t e nt i a l m a nagem e nt opt i o ns

. S

ee N o te H(vii) fo r th e Sa n itary In spectio n Ca tego ry flo w ch arts fo r rivers an d la kes.

A c t i on (r ed) mo de : con s e c u t iv e sam p le s The act i o n m ode i s tr i gge re d whe n a si n g l e sam p le exceeds a pre - determ ined val u e (see Bo x 2 fo r gu idelin e v a l u es). Und e r th e actio n m o d e , th e l o cal au thority an d h ealth au tho r ities
warn t h e p u b lic, using ap propriate m e th o d s, th at the beac h is unsuitable for re c r eation and
arrange for the local aut h ority to erect si gns a t th e beac h warn i ng t h e pu bl i c of a heal th dan g er

. S

ee N o te H(i) f o r d i scu s sion on sa mp ling requ iremen ts. S

ee N o te H(xvi ) fo r in fo rma tio n on repo rting to th e pub lic. See N o te H(xvi i) for ma nag em en t respon ses to exceedances

.



### E.5 Freshw ater surveillance, alert and action levels
Th e surv eillance, alert an d actio n lev e ls are
summ arised in Bo x 2. Th ey ar e b a sed on an esti m a te th at a p pro x i m a tel y 5 % of Campylobacter i n fect i o ns co ul d be at tr i but a b l e to fres hwater c ontact recreati o n. See A p

pen d i x 2 f o r deta i l s o n h o w gui del i n e values have be en develope d

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E8

### Box 2: Surve il lance , alert and action leve ls f o r fres hwate r

Ac ce ptabl e /Gree n Mode : No s i n g le s a mp le g r ea t e r th an 260 E. co li/ 100 m L

.

• C o nt i n u e r o ut i n e (e

. g . w e e k l y ) m oni t o ri n g

.
A l ert /A mb e r Mod e : Si ngl e sam p le great er t h a n 260 E. co li/ 100 m L

.

• In crease sam p l i ng t o daily (i nitial sam p les will b e u s ed t o confi r m if a prob lem ex ist s ).

• Cons ult t h e C A C t o as sisti n i d e n ti fyi ng possi ble l o c a ti on of s o urce s of fa ecal c o nt am inati on.

• Und e r t ak e a san itar y survey, and r e por t on sour ces of con t am in ati o n

. Ac ti o n / R e d M o de : Si ngl e sam p le great er t h a n 550 E. co li/ 100 m L

.

• In crease sam p l i ng t o daily (i nitial sam p les will b e u s ed t o confi r m if a prob lem ex ist s ).

• Cons ult t h e C A C t o as sisti n i d e n ti fyi ng possi ble l o c a ti on of s o urce s of fa ecal c o nt am inati on.

• Und e r t ak e a san itar y survey, and r e por t on sour ces of con t am in ati o n

.

• Erectw a rn i ng si gn s.

• Infor m pub lic through t h e med i a t h ata public h e alt h p r oblem ex i s ts.

Notes:

• ColilertTM is the m e thod of ch oice to enu m e r ate E. coli or EPA Method 1103.1, 1985 Me m b rane Filter Method for E. co li ( t his m e thod gives a r e sult for E. c o l i within 24 hour s) : USE P A I CR M i cr obial L abor ator y M a nual. * T h is m e thod and the MPN M e thod for E. co li , which is also acce ptable (but gives a result in 48 hours), is described in the 20th edition o f Sta ndard Meth ods for the E x amination of W

a ter and W a ste W a ter , Am er ican Public Health Ass o ciation. T h ese m e thods m u st be used to enu m er ate E. co li unless an alter n ative
m e thod is validated to give equivalen t r e sults for the water s being tested. * U S E P A N a ti on al C e ntre f o r E n vir o nm ental P u bl ica t i o n s an d I n fo rm atio n (N CE PI), 11 0 29 K e nw o o dRoa d , Ci nc in na ti, O H 4 5 2 4 2 , U S A ( Do cu m e n t No

. EPA-8 2 1

- C-97 -004 ).

• Sa m p les to test com p li ance should be over the bathing season appr opriate to that locality (at least 1 Nove m b er t o 31 March) an d
sam p ling tim e s sh ould be r e str i cted to between 0800 ho ur s and 1800 h our s

.

PA RT II : GU I D ELI NE S F O R R E C R E A TI ONAL W A TER QU ALI T Y. June 2003 

### E9

### E.6 Conditions of using the guidelines
Use o f th ese gu id elin es is con d ition a l on the fo llowing

. These guidelines m u st not be use d as a measu r e o f su it ab ility fo r recreatio n wh en th ere i s a m a jo r out brea k of a pot e n t i a l l y waterborne dis ease in t h e c o mmunity, and that comm unity’s sewa ge contributes t o t h e
m i crobi ol ogi ca l cont am i n at i on of th e wat e r. Su ch co nd itio ns con s titu te ‘excep tio n a l circum stances’. T h e gu id elines do no t app l y th en beca use t h e rel a t i ons hi p betw ee n i ndi cat o r or gan i sm s and di sea s e was de ri ve d
w h en t h er e w e r e n o kno wn ou tbr eak s of waterborne dis eases in t h e c o mmunity. W h en th e r e is s u ch an o u t b r ea k , h e a lth r i sk s may be increa s e d because of a highe r-thanu s ual ratio of path og en con c en tration to indicators i n the water. •

•

•

• Im pl em ent i ng th e gui del i n es e m phasi ses th e need and im portance for trad i tio n a l san itary surveys. Co m p lian ce with th e gu id elines g e n e rally indicates that a beac h is s u itable for recreation. T h ere are excepti ons however. For e x am ple, efflue nt m a y be treated to a lev e l wh ere th e in d i cator b act erial lev e ls are very l o w , but o t her pat h o g ens suc h as vi r u ses or p r ot ozoa m a y st il l be prese n t at high levels

. T h e asse ssm ent of suc h
co nd itio ns sh ou ld b e con s id ered du ring t h e pr oce du r e fo r gra d i n g a beac h. It is im p o r tan t th at water m a n a g e rs use th ese gui del i n es j udi ci ousl y , an d caref u l l y consider whe r e they can be a p plied.

Th es e g u id e l in e s ar e not int e n d e d to be
use d as th e b a sis for es tabli s hi n g c o nd it io ns for d i s c ha rge con s ent s , a l tho u gh they may be used a s a com p onent for deci si on m a king. Se e the I n t r odu c t i o n of th es e g u idelin es fo r d i sc us s i on on wha t th is docu me nt cov e r s .

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### E10

## SECTION F: Microbiological Guidelines for Shellfish-Gathering Waters
Th e m i cro b i o l o g i cal water-qu ality g u i delines fo r recreat i o nal s h el l f i s h gat h eri n g ar e as de fi ne d i n th e Sh ellfish Qu a lity Assu ra nce Circu la r (M in istry of

A g ric u lture and F o rest ry 1 9 9 5 ) f o r area s of ap pro v e dsh ellf ish- gr ow ing waters. Th ese gui del i n es ar e use d by t h e s h e l l f i s h ex p o rt se ct or and are interna tionally accept e d as indicating that shellfish grown in s u ch classified waters under g i v e n co nd ition s o f san itary safety are exp e ctedto h a v e su itab l e micro b i o l o g i cal q u a lity fo r pub lic
con s um pt i on.
No te: Th ese recrea tion a l sh el lfish

- ga th eri n g wa ter q u a lity gu id eli n es on ly co ver microb io lo g i cal cont ami nat i o n. T h ey do n o t c o ver m a ri ne bi ot oxi n s, w h i c h i n certa i n pla ces a n d l o c a t i o ns
ca n po se a sign ifica n t risk to recrea tion a l shellfish gat herers

. 

### F.1 The preferred indicat o r for w a ters used for shellfish gathering
The guidelines use f aecal c o liform indicator
or gani sm val u es t o de not e t h e pot e n t i a l pre s e n ce of path oge ni c bac t eri a , vi r u ses an d p r ot oz oa.



### F.2 Recreational shellfish-gathering guideline values
Co m p lian ce with th ese gu id eli n es al one does not g u aran t ee th at sh ellfish grown in waters o f th is micro b i o l o g i cal q u a lity will be safe. Th e gui delines a p ply to wate rs in a catchm e nt where a pri o r sanitary s u rvey has s hown that the r e ar e no poi nt s o u r ces o f pol l u t i o n of p ubl i c heal th c o ncer n. Th e gu id elin es are so lely a man a g e m e n t too l to
measu r e an y ch ang e fro m th e con d ition s p r ev ailin g at the tim e of assessm ent.
The guidelines are als o useful for a ssessing t h e im pact of p o l l u t i on fr om surfa ce r u n - o f f aft e r rai n fal l , an d of t i d al m ovem e nt u n d er st o r m co nd itio ns. Such facto r s are usedt o d ecid e wh en gathe r ing s h ould be curtailed in comm ercial sh ellf ish- gro w i n g ar eas w h e n weathe r c o n d i t i ons cau se po llu tio n. Th ey are equally ap p licab le for recreation a l shellfish

- g r o w i n g waters.
Th e gu id elin es are set ou t in Bo x 3.

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### F1

### Box 3: Recreational shellfis h- gathering bac t eriologic al guideline value s

T h e m e dia n fa ecal c o li form cont e n t of s a mple s ta ke n ove r a s h ell f i s h-ga the r i ng s e a s on s h all not e x ce ed a Most Prob ab l e Nu m b er ( M PN) of 14 / 100 m L , and no t m o r e t h an 10 % of sam p les shou l d ex ceed an MPN of 43 / 100 m L (using a f i v e - t ub e d ecim a l d i l u ti on test).
Th ese gu i d eli n es shou l d b e app lied i n conjun cti on w i t h a s a n itar y surv ey. Th er e ma y b e s i tu a t ion s wh ere b a c t er io lo g i ca l l e v e ls su g g es t th a t w a t e rs are s a f e , b u t a s a n i t a r y su rv e y ma y i n d i ca t e th a tth ere is an un accep t ab le l e vel of r i sk.

Notes:

• T h e M P N m e thod as descr i bed in Standard Meth ods for the E x amination of W a ter and W a stewater ; A m e r ican P ublic Health Assoc i ation (current edition), m u st be used to enu m er ate faecal coli form s unless an alt e rnative m e thod is validated to give equivalent resu lts for the water s being tested

.

• Sa m p ling to test c o m p liance shall be ove r the whole sh ellfish- gather ing s eason.

• A sufficient num b e r of sam p les should be gather ed thr ougho ut th e gather ing season to pr ovi de r easonable statistical power in t esting for
co m p liance for both the m e dian li m it and the 90% sam p les lim i t.

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### F2

# Part III: Explanatory Notes to the Guidelines Th e f o llow i ng ex p l an atory notes are provide dto gi ve m o re det a i l on som e of t h e i s s u es rai s e di n Parts I an d I I

.



## SECTION G: NOTES TO PART I: The Fra m ewo r k for Monitoring Recreational Water Quality

Note G(i): Respiratory illness
Studies ha ve i n creasingly found significant relatio n s h i p s between resp irat o ry illn ess risk an d a bacterial indicator. T h is has been s h own i n recent stu d i es i n at least four d i fferen t coun tries, bu t it
m a y not be a n e w phe n o m e non: H ong K ong ( C h e ung et al 19 90 ) •

•

•

• England (Balar ajan et al 1 989 ; Fewt rell et al 1 992 ; Fleish er , K a y, Salm o n et al 1 996 ) A u st r a lia ( C orb e tt et al 199 3) New Zealand (McBride, Salmo n det al 19 98).
The aetiol ogic a l agent ( s) for this are unclear, alth o ugh it is gen e rally recogn ised th at a num b e r of

bact eri a l an d vi ral path oge ns t h at cause resp i r ato ry illness (e.g. m e m b ers o f th e en tero v i ru s an d ad eno v i r u s gr oup , and certain species of the genu s Klebsiella ) are she di n faecal m a tter. Infectio n is g e n e rally acqu i red b y inh a latio n of
aeros ol s c o nt ai ni n g t h e s e i n fe ct i ous part i c l e s (Ho r witz 199 0 ; Meln ick 19 90 ; Tyler & Field s 1 990 ; Grim o n t et al 19 92), andth e po ten tial for t r ansm i ssi on o f vi ral pat h o g en s vi a wa vegene rat e d aer o s ol s has bee n d e m onst r at ed (B ay l o r et al 1977).

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### G1

### Note G(ii): Examples of health risks
Contact with c ontam inated re creational wate r has beens h o w n t o pos e a nu m b er of p o ssi bl e hea l th risk s. Th ese illn esses, sym p to m s an dp a t h ogen s are listedi n Tab l e G1 , alon g with th e relev an t refe rences

. A num ber of New Zealand cases of
cam p yl obact er iosi s fro m t h e i n gest i on of cont am i n at ed dri nki ng wat e r have been dem onst r at ed ( B ri esm a n 1987; Stehr-Green et al 1991; Ikram et al 1994; Eberhart -Phil l i p s et al 1997 ), as has also been shown for gi ardi asi s ( F raser & C ooke 199 1) . W i t h

respect t o respi r at ory sym p t o m s , i nhal a ti on of aerosol s has been i n di cat e d as a possi ble t r ansm i s si on rou t e (Bayl o r et al 1977; Ty ler & Fi el ds 1990 ). See al so Not e G(i )

.
Table G1: Bathing-relate d illn esses, symptoms and pathoge ns, with re levant re ferences

I lln es s / s y mp toms P a t h ogen Referen c e Campylobacteriosis – acu te diarr hoea with r i sk of deh y dration lasting about fiv e day s , but may be long er. Usually with fev e r, heada c hes and n a us ea in the firs t s t ages

. Abdom i n al p a in can be sufficien tly sev e re for patients to be hospitalised with suspected appendicitis. Campylobacter jejuni Koenraad et al 1 997

Cryptosporidiosis – acu te dia rrho ea. S y m p tom s m a y wax and wane but duratio n in h e alth y p e rsons is usually less than 20 day s with spontan eou s complete re cov e r y
. May be fatal in immunocompro m ised patients. Cryptosporidium parvum Sorvillo et al 19 92

Ear inf ect ion – o titis ext e rna , ski n infe ction of th e out er ear and otitis m e d i a, inn e r e a r infe ction with exud ate an d ear ach e. Not iden tifi e d (u suall y Pseudomonas aeruginosa , Streptoco ccus , and Staphylo coccus ) Robson & Leun g 1990

Enterov i rus-like illness – vom itin g, di arrhoea, and abdom inal pain. Enterov i ruses (ty p e not identif ied) D’Alessio et al 1 981

Hepatitis A – l o ng i n c u ba t i o n wi th sy mp t o ms d e ve l o p i n g gradually . S y m p toms include lo ss of appetite, malaise, fever and vomiting followed b y jaund ice. Hepatitis A viru s Br y a n et al 1974

Norwalk gastroint estinal i llness – usually sudd en onset with vomiting, d i arrh oea and abdominal p a in

. Vomiting frequen t ly appears without warning an d may be pro j ectile and uncontrollable, while d i arrho ea may b e explosiv e. Small round stru ctured viruse s (SRSVs) , including Norwalk virus B a rr o n et a l 19 82

Respiratory illn es s – cold and flu

- like s y mptoms. May be
as s o ciat ed with f

e ver. Adenovirus and others not identif ied McBride, Salmond et al 1998; Corbett et al 1993; Fattal et al 1986 Shigellosis – diarrhoe a t h atmay va ry from rel a ti ve ly mi l d t o violent, with abd o minal pains an d fevers

. Shigella sonnei Rosenberg et al 1976

Swimme r’s e a r – otit is ex tern a, in fect ion of the ou ter ear

. Not iden tifi e d (u suall y Pseudemonas aeruginosa ) Calderon and Mood 1982 Typhoid and Paratyphoid (

e nteric) – fever Salmonella typh i and Salmonella paratyphi PHLS 1959

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### G2

### Note G(iii): State of the Environment Reporting
En vi ro nm ent a l pe rf orm a nce i ndi cat o r s ar e desi g n e df o r us e i n st at e of t h e en vi r onm ent
m o n ito rin g prog ramm es. Th ey h e lp u s to :

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• •

•

• syste m atically report on the st ate of Ne w Zealand’s e n vironm ental assets syste m atically measur e the pe rform a nce of its en v i ron m en tal p o licies and leg i slatio n b e tter p r ioritise po licy an d imp r ov e envi ro nm ent a l deci si o n m a ki ng. Ov er tim e, th e in fo rm atio n pro d u c ed b y State of th e E nvi r o nm ent re p o rt i n g can: cont ri b u t e t o ra i s i ng t h e l e vel of k

n o wl e dge about the state of Ne w Zealan d’s envi ro nm ent in crease ou r abilit y to rep o rt on en v i ron m en tal h ealth an d trend s p r ov id e t h e tools f o r

e ffective evaluation of p o licy
pr o v ide t h e in f o rm ation bas e fo r m o re in fo r m edpo licy an d m a n a g e men t d ecision s. Thi s doc um ent ser v es as a m oni t o ri ng p r ot oc ol tw o st at e of th e en vi r onm ent p e rf orm a nce i ndi cat o r s de ve l ope d by th e M i ni stry u nde r t h e En vi ro nm ent a l Per f o r m a nce I ndi cat o r s (EP I ) Programme. Please note that beache s re fer t o bot h fres h wat e r an d m a ri ne re creat i onal ar ea s, so eac h of th e f o l l o wi ng i n di c a t o rs w oul d be rep o rte d fo r m a rine an d f r es h w ater beac hes: the pe rce n tage of m onitored beaches i n eac h beach gra d e the pe rce n tage of the sea s on beaches or coastal areas were s u itable for bathi n g or sh ellfish g a t h erin g

. 

### Note G(iv): Pressure-State-Response model
The Press u re-State-Response (PSR) m odel was
use dt o m easure en vi r onm ent a l per f o r m a nce o f
m a nagem e nt respo n ses t o de v e l op envi ro nm ent a l per f o r m a nce i n di cat ors

. The PSR m o d e l asks th ree im p o r tan t qu estion s : What ar e t h e pressures on t h e environm ent ? What is the sta t e of the e n vironm ent ? What i s bei n g do ne t o m a nag e change s i n press u res or st at e ?
Press u re indicators an s w er the first question by
measu r ing the stresses fro m h u m an activ ities (an d natu ral v ariations ) that c ause envi ronm ental change. State i ndicators an s w er th e sec o n d q u e s t i on by m easuri n g act ual chan ges o r tr e n ds i n th e p h y s i cal or bi ol o g i cal state of t h e e nvironm ent. Response indicators
answ er t h e t h i r d que st i o nby m oni t o ri ng th e effectiv en ess of p o licies or actio n s tak e n b y p e op le to reduce, prev en t o r mit i g a te
un desi ra bl e c h ange i n t h e st at e o f t h e envi ro nm ent

. The i ndicators on which th ese gu id elin es are base d; pe rcent a ge of m onitored beache s in e ach beach gra d e, an d pe rce n tage of the sea s on beache s or c o a s tal areas were suitable for contact recreati o n or s h ellfish gathe r ing, ar e st at e i ndi cat o r s t h at p r ovi de g e neral i n f o rm ati on o nth e pu b lic health risk presen ted b y recreational wa ters. Press u re i ndicators woul d
m easure th e s u rr ou n d i n g l a n d use an d d i sch arg es to water t o assist id en tificatio n of p o t en tial cau ses of ch ang e s in water qu ality. R e spo n se i n di cat ors w oul d i d ent i f y m a nagem e nt o r pol i c y chan g e s at t h e regi o n a l or n a tio n a l lev e l (for ex am p l e in frastru ctural im pro v em ent s , l a nd u s e m a nagem e nt pol i c i e s, nat i onal en vi r o nm ent a l st andards ) t o m a nage issu es for recreatio n a l waters.

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### G3Im pl em ent a ti on of i n t e g r at ed press u re, state and
r e spon se m o n ito r i n g pr ov id es a m easu r e of the entire system in que stion and supports detect ion
o f

po licy g a p s o r opp ortun ities fo r m a n a g e m e n t im provem ents.



### Note G(v): Integrating public health and state of the environment data The purpose of the Mi cr obi ologi c a l W a t e r Qua lity Gu id el in es fo r Ma rine an d Fresh w ater Recreational A r eas is t o h e lp co n t ro l t h e p ublic health risk fr o m m i cr obi ol o g i cal cont am i n ati on in recreation a l waters, andt o p r ov id e a fram e wor k fo r m onitoring an d re po rting o n t h e gene ral heal th of beac hes. Int e grat i n g t h e ne eds of

b o th st at e o f th e e nvi ro nm ent an d p ubl i c heal t h m oni t o ri ng m a y pr esent som e challenges, b u t it is ach i evab le.
M i crobi o l ogi cal i n for m ati on i s generat e d m o r e i n t e nsi v ely t o keep st ock of short

- t e r m

vari ation that can affec t the public health risk of water qual i t y . Th i s m onit o ri ng t a k e s pl ace on a weekly basi s, alt hough at t i m e s fol l o w - up m onit o ri ng i s req u i red to id e n tify th e p e r m an en ce o f an identified guid e line exceedan ce. The purpose of state of the environm ent
m o n ito rin g is t o co llect su fficien t d a ta t o pr o duce i n f o r

m at i on o n t h e gene ral heal t h of t h e envi ro nm ent

. Thi s i n f o rm at ioncanth e n be use d to m easure how well our m a nagem e nt practices, pol i c i e s an d l a ws ar e wo rki n g, an d whet her envi ro nm ent a l out c o m e s are b e i ng ac hi e v ed

. The beac h gra d es ge nerat e d t h r o ug h t h e com b ination of the catc h m e nt assessm ent and
m i crobi ol ogi ca l assessm ent pr ovi de st at e of t h e envi ro nm ent i n fo rm ati on t o t h e p ubl i c ont h e g e n e ral co nd itio n of t h e recreatio n a l area wi th respect t o publ ic health risk. The
m i crobi ol ogi ca l i n f o rm at i on c o l l ect ed t o asse ss the public heal th ris k at the beach on a weekly basi s i s a g gre g at ed o v e r fi ve y ears t o ge nera t e the Microbiol o gical Asse ssm e n t Catego ry u s ed in th e be ach gradi ng process. 

### Note G(vi): Merging with existing microbiological programmes
Co un cils m a y m o n ito r m i cro b i o l og ical water q u a lity fo r objectiv es o t h e r than p u b lic h e alth rep o rtin g (e. g

. land -use p r ess u re , tre n d s ). Merg ing m o n ito ri n g programmes can resu lt in si gni fi cant c o st savi ngs , th o u g h th e r e ar e s o m e issues t o be aw are of.
Th e fo llowing co nsid eration s sh ou l db e m a d e whe n m e rgi n g pr o g ram m es ot her t h an f o r pu bl i c health rep o rti n g: C a n th e sam p l i ng re q u i r em ent s o f bot h pr o g ram m es be sat i s fi ed ? •

• W ill the sam p lin g l o cation s be app r op riate fo r bot h pr o g ra m m e s ?
See B o x 4 fo r an e x am pl e of m e rgi n g pr o g ram m es.

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### G4

### Box 4 Issues with integr ating progr ammes

Council A’s ex i s ti ng m i crobio l og ical m o n i tor i ng p r ogramm e h a s b een speci f i cally d e si gn ed t o m o n i tor t h e eff e cts of agr i cu lt ural l a nd-use. The sam p l i ng cond iti ons (w et , d r y ) and th e l o cati on s of t h o s e sites are im p o r t an t t o deter m in e t r ends over tim e and space. Th e m onit o ri ng re qui r em ent s t o m eet t h es e objec tive s are:

• mo n i to r i n g s i te s th a t ar e r e p r e s en ta t i v e o f th e ca t c h m e n t

• avo i d i ng m o n i tor i ng du r i ng or af ter st or m even ts, t o avo i d skewi n g t r end s

• m ont hl y sam p l i n g

. How e ver , t h e pub lic h e alt h progr amm e as ou tli n e d i n t h e M i c r o b io lo g i ca l Wa te r Qu a l it y Gu id e l in e s fo r Ma ri n e and Fresh w a t er Recrea ti ona l Areas h a s been d e si gn ed for t h e pro t ecti on and repor ti ng o f public h e a l th r i sk

. Th is r e q u ire s :

• m onit o ri ng at be ac he s t h ata r e use d for c o nt act rec r e a ti on

• sam p li ng at l o cati o n s and ti m e s that m o st closely r e pr esen t s pub li c expo sure ( t h i s m a y i n cl ud e sam p li ng dur i ng rai n f a ll ev en t s )

• week ly sam p li ng. Whe n t h e c ouncil at tem p te d to s a tis fy t h e m onit o ri ng re qui r em ent s of bot h prog rammes , it quic kly becam e c l e a r th a t th er e wo u l d b e d i ff ic u l t i e s me rg in g th e two w i th o u t th e o b j ec t i v e o f o n e o rb o th o f th e progr amm e s being co m p ro m i sed.

Merg ing or adap tin g an existi ng state of the envi ro nm ent m oni t o ri n g pr o g r a m m e t o rep o rt
on p u b l i c heal t h ri sk re qui re s caref ul de si g n t o ens u re t h e obje ctives of bot h programm es are success f ully ac hieve d

. T h e following s o lutions
are s u ggeste d whe r e m onitori ng objectives
co nflict.

•

• •

Sep arate m o n ito ri n g programmes: th is is no t th e m o st efficien t so lu tion , bu t th e clearest way to preserve th e in teg r ity o f bo th
m oni t o ri ng p r o g ram m es. Int e grat e t h e pr og ram m es: des i gn a j o i n t pr o g ram m e t a ki ng a d vant a g e of o v erl a ps, recognising the specific sam p ling requirem ents of eac h programme. This app r oach i s m o re c o m p l e x an d m a y i nvol v e tag g i ng d a ta con s id ered un su itab l e to t h e diffe rin g o b jec tives. Eco nom i s e sam p li ng e f f o rt s: use th e cat chm e nt assessm ent and fre que ncy of use to prioritise b e ach es t h at require week ly
sam p lin g for pu b lic h ealth risk ev alu a tion

. Th ese b each e s will form th e fo cus for meetin g th e pub lic h ealth objectiv es of the gui delines. T h e land-use pres sure objectives coul d th e n be m e t by a l e ss st ri n g ent
sam p lin g reg i me wh ile m a in tain in g im port a nt t

r en d i n f o rm at i on.

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### G5

### Note G(vii): Different roles and responsibilities adopted around New Z e aland As part o f det e rm i n i ng a se nsi b l e an d p r agm a t i c approach to re commendi ng an assi g n m en t of
ro les and respon sib ilities, th e Min i stry for t h e Environm ent inve stigated a num b er of sce n ar ios ope rat i n g ar o u n d th e c o unt ry

.
S c ena r io O n e: In teg r at ed ap proa ch

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• The regi onal c o uncil underta kes all beach
m o n ito rin g in an area. Whe n t h e alert level is excee ded, t h e territo rial lo cal au thority carri es ou t ad d ition a l m o nito ring

. Add itio n a l sam p lin g is funded by t h e Medical Offi cer of Health. A san itary su rvey is carried o u t wh en i n alert
m ode II. Wh en t h e action lev e l is ex ceed e d th e territo rial lo cal au thority carri es ou t ad d ition a l m o nito ring

. Add itio n a l sam p lin g is funded by t h e Medical Offi cer of Health. Inv e stig ation of n u i san ce is carried ou t b y the territ o rial local aut h ority. Wh en i n action m o d e , pub lic n o tification is
un de rt ake n by th e M e di cal Officer of Health (i ncl u des si g n a g e)

.
Sce n ari o Tw o: Me dic a l O f fi cer of He al th lead The Me dical Officer of Health bri ngs the reg i o n a l cou n c il an dterritorial lo cal
au tho r ities in th e reg i o ntog e th er b e fore t h e begi nni ng o f t

h e bath i n g seas o n t o ascert a i n th e de g r ee of m oni t o ri ng p r o g ram m ed fo r the re gion. T h e Medical Offi cer of Health is kept i n f o rm ed of th e st at u s of beac hes th ro ugh ou t th e en tire season

. Th e territorial lo cal au t h ority carries ou t all
m onitoring in each district. Whe n t h e alert level is excee ded the territorial local authority unde rtakes a de gree o f inv e stig ation (add itio n a l sa m p lin g is rarely car ried o u t). Whe n t h e action level is excee ded signs ar e put up at beac hes (s om etimes perm anent
aro u n d som e d i schar g e poi nt s ) an d a pu bl i c com m uni cat i ons str a t e gy i s i m pl em ent e d. An inv e stig ation in t o th e cau s e of n u i san ce is carrie d out. The regi onal c o u n ci l i s kept i n f o rm ed th ro ugh ou t th e season

.
S c ena r io Th re e: S i ng le ag en cy Th e territorial lo cal aut h ority carries out
m oni t o ri ng

. Th e pu b lic are n o t alerted when action lev e ls
are e x ceede d , a lthough an investigation is carried out t o find t h e ca use of the problem and abate nuis ance. The Me dical Officer of Health is a v ailable t o p r ov id e adv i ce to th e territ o ri al lo cal
au tho r ity on wh eth e r to in form th e pu b lic.

Sce n ari o F o u r : Re gi o n al l e a d The regi onal c o uncil carries out all
m oni t o ri ng

. Territorial lo cal au tho r ities remain in fo rm ed
o f

water qu ality in th eir d i stri ct th ro ugh regi onal c o unc i l s

. The Me dical Officer of Health is i n form ed by re gi o n al c o unci l s w h enth e act i on l e vel i s exceede d , an d provides a d vice on the public health si gni ficance. Reg i on al councils tak e add itio n a l sam p les
an d inv e stig ate wh en th e acti o n lev e l is exceede d

. The Me dical Officer of Health inform s the pu bl i c w h e n t h e act i on l e vel i s excee de d.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### G6S c ena r io F i v e : Doub le ch eck

•

•

•

•

• •

•

•

•

•

• The regi onal c o u n ci l m oni t o r s beac hes f o r state of t h e e nvironm ent reporting. Th e territorial lo cal au t h orities m o n ito r beache s for public health purpos es. The Me dical Officer of Health p r ov id es advice on a sa m p ling strate gy and the publi c heal th si gni fi cance of sam p l i ng resul t s

. Th e territorial lo cal au t h orities carry ou t ad d ition a l samp lin g andi n vestig atio n when alert levels are exceede d

. Territorial lo cal au tho r ities info rm th e pub lic whe n action le vels are exc eeded an d investigate t h e nuisance.


### Note G(viii): The legislative basis for the Ministry’s recommendations
The recomm endations m a de by the Ministry for the E nvironm e n t and t h e Mini stry of Health are sup p o rt e d by l e gi sl at i on a s f o l l o ws. The r e gi onal c o uncil undertakes sur veillanc e and alert-level monitori ng (including resour ce
co nsen t mo n itorin g )

. Sect i on 3 5 of th e R e s o u r ce M a nagem e nt Act , 1 991 r e qu ir es reg i on al coun cils to un d e r t ak e
m oni t o ri ng t o carry out t h ei r fu nct i o ns un de r th e RMA eff ectiv ely. Sectio n 35(2 ) r e q u i r e s reg i o n a l cou n c ils to und ertake “state o f th e envi ro nm ent ” m oni t o ri ng

. Un de r th e R M A, re gi o n al co unci l s ha ve fun c tion s in rel a tio n to th e co astal m a rin e area, in clu d i n g co astal waters, wh ich are link e d to th e purpose of t h e RMA. T h e as pects of t h e pu r pose o f t

h e R M A (Par t II ) th at are rel e vant t o co astal waters/marin e b a t h ing and , i n p a rticular, the public heal th aspects of beach water qua lity
are: sect i on 5 – s u st ai nabl e m a nag e m e nt i n co rp orat es he al th an d sa fet y , safe guar d i n g th e life-sup p o r t i n g cap acity of water and
av o i d i ng , rem e d y in g or m itig atin g an y ad v e rse effects of activ ities on th e envi ro nm ent
sect i on 6 – t h e prese r vat i o n o f t h e nat u ral characte r of t h e coastal e nvi ronm ent, includi ng the c o astal m a rine area an d the main ten a n ce an d enh an cem e n t of pu b lic access to an d a l ong the coa s tal m a rine area
are m a t t e rs of nat i onal i m port a nce sect i on 7 – t h e m a i n t e nance an d enhancem ent of am enity values and t h e q u a lity of th e en v i ron m en t are m a tters to whi c h part i c ul ar re gard m u st be had by d ecision m a k e rs un der t

h e R M A

. Section 30 of the RMA ascri b es functions to regi onal c o unc i l s fo r t h e p u r p ose of gi vi n g effect to th e RMA, includ ing:
cont rol of l a n duse fo r t h e pu r pos e of main tain in g anden h an c ing t h e qu ality o f
co astal water in res p ect of the coastal m a rine area, the cont rol of di sc har g es o f c ont a m i n ant s i n t o water andd i sch a rg es of water in t o water
th e ge ne ral , c o nt r o l o f di schar g es of cont am i n ant s i n t o wat e r an d di scharge s of water i n to wat e r.
Po licy 5

. 1

. 1 of th e New Zealan d Co astal Po licy St at em ent di re ct s regi onal co unci l s t h at : Rul e s s h oul d b e m ade a s s o o n as pos si bl e w i t h t h e obj ect of e n ha nci n g
wa ter qua lity in th e coa s t a l en vironmen t where that is desirable to assi st in achi evi n g t

h e p u rp ose of t

h e A c t , a n d i n part i c ular w h e r e t h ere i s a hi gh p u b l i c in terest in , o r u s e o f th e wa ter.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### G7In su mm ary, it is con s isten t with th e RMA to
r e qu ir e r e g i on al co un cils to und er tak e su rv eillan ce m o n itoring andalert-lev e l
m oni t o ri ng o f m a ri ne bat h i n g wat e rs

. A r g u a b l y , th e R M A re qui res regi onal c o unci l s t o go fu rt he r t h an t h i s an d u nde rt ak e st ep ped

- u p nui sance m oni t o ri ng , whe r e n ecessary

. Th ere is n o prov ision in th e Health Act for t h e Med i cal Officer o f Health t o au d it th e
m oni t o ri ng car ri ed o u t by regi onal c o unci l s

. Howe ver, the recommendation that t h e Me dical Officer o f Heal th b e satisfied with th e m a n n er in wh ich th e m o n ito ring is carried o u t is to p r o t ect p u b lic h ealt h an d safety. It al so h e lp s to en su re th at th e g u i d e lin es will b e consisten tly ap p lied
ar oun d th e coun try. If alert or action levels are re ache d t h e re gi onal

co un cil in f

o rms th e Med i cal Officer of Heal th

a n d t

h e territoria l au tho r ity. Th e Med ica l Officer o f Hea l th ensu res th e territo ria l

a u t h o rity is in f

o rmed

. Sect i on 3 5 ( 2 ) of th e R M A re qui res regi onal councils to “take a p pr op ri at e act i on (ha v i n g reg ard to t h e m e th od s av ailab l e to it und er the R M A) whe r e t h i s i s s h ow n t o be necessary ”. Thi s i s l i n ke d t o st at e of t h e e nvi ro nm ent
m o n ito rin g requ irem en ts . Appropriate action
m a y i n cl ude i n fo rm i ng th e M e dical Officer of Health an d territo rial au thority.
Once the Me di cal Officer of Health is aw are th at al ert o r act i on l e vel s have bee n e x cee ded , i t is con s isten t with th e Health Act th at h e o r sh e en su re t h at th e territo rial au tho r ity is informed

. Und e r th e Heal th Act, th e Director-Ge n eral of Health (an dhis o r her o fficers ) has an ove rri di n g dut y t o i m prove , p r om ot e an d pr o t ect pu bl i c heal t h . The M e di cal Officers of Health and Health Protection Office rs under t h e Director-Ge n eral of Health ha ve s u pervisory/
au d iting ro les in relatio n t o p u b lic nu isan ces. Wh ile there is sp ecific leg i slativ e au thority fo r the Medical Officer of Hea lth to d i rect territorial au tho r ities, t h ere is cu rren tly n o such au t h ority fo r hi m or he r t o di rect re gi on al cou n ci l s

. Th e territoria l a u t h o rity in fo rms the p u b lic, where necessary. The Medic al Officer of Hea lth ensu res th e p u b lic a r e in fo rmed.
Territorial au t h o r ities h a v e a du ty to im p r ov e, p r o m o t e an d pro t ect pu b lic h e alth with in th ei r districts under section 23 o f t h e Health Act. This e x tends t o specific powe rs and duties: If

sat i s f

i e d t hat a n y nui s a nce, or an y
co nd itio n likely to b e in j u rious to h e a lth

o r

o

ffen s ive, exists in th e d i strict, th e territo ria l au tho r ity is to cau s e a ll proper steps to be t a ken to se cure t h e ab at eme n t of t h e nui s a nce or t h e re mov a l

o f

th e con d ition

. “All prop er step s” argu ab ly inclu d e s in form i n g th e pub lic. Also , as o u tlin edab ov e, th e Med i cal Officer o f Heal th h a s an au d itin g ro le u n d e r th e Health Act, andit is co n s isten t with th is t h at h e o r

sh e ensures th at th e p u b lic is in fo rm ed

. Sect i on 5 7 of th e R M A p r ovi des fo r a Ne w Zealand Coast a l Policy Statement (NZC PS), whi c h i s m a nd at ory

. B y vi rt u e o f sect i o ns 5 5
an d 57 , lo cal au tho r ities m u st tak e su ch actio n as is nece ssary to im ple m ent the NZCPS. Po licy 5

. 1

. 7 of th e NZCPS states: Provi s i o n s h ou l d

be m a de t o e n su re t h at the public is adequately war n e d w h en the d

e grada tio n o f

wa ter in th e co a s t a l environment has re ndere d the water

u n s a f

e f

o r swi mmi n g , sh ellfish g a t h e ring
o r

o t h e r a c tivities.
C onse q uent l y , t h e N Z C PS di r ect s l o cal
au tho r ities to mak e prov ision to warn th e pu b lic. Reg i on al councils h a v e fu n c ti o n s to en sur e t h at i n t e grat e dm a nagem e nt of t h e nat u ral an d physical re sources of a re gi o n i s achi e ve d, an d p r ovisio n co ul d be ac hi eve d by en su ri n g t h at territo rial au tho r ities will carry o u t t

h is fun c tio n

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### G8If th e a c tion level is rea c h e d, in th e first instance the territorial aut hority will undert ake

n u i san ce m o n ito ring an d caus e all proper steps t o be ta ke n to ab at e or re m o v e t h e nui s a nce. O n
occa si o n i t m a y be m o re a ppr opri a t e f o r

t

h e reg i ona l coun cil to un d e rta ke th is du ty. Th e Med ica l Officer o f Hea lth will p r o v id e ad vice
a n d en su re t h at th e territo ria l lo ca l au tho r ities
a n d / or reg i on al co un cils ta ke p r op er step s. Th e Health Act requ ires territ o rial au tho r ities to
u n d e rtak e nu isan ce m o n ito ri ng in relation to th eir d i stricts pu rsu an t to sectio n 23 : To c a use i n spe c t i on of i t

s di st

ri ct t o be reg u la rl y ma de f o r t h e pur p o s e of ascerta i n i n g i f

any n u i s ances , or an y
co nd itio ns likely to b e in j u rious to h e a lth

o r

o

ffen s ive, exist in th e d i strict.
‘District’ is no t d e fin e din th e Health Act, and argu ab ly th e co astal m a rin e area is n o t with i n a territorial a u thority’s district because of t h e d e fi n itio n of ‘district’ in th e R M A. Ho wev e r, th is d e fin ition d o e s n o t exp r essly ap p l y to the Health Act. Fu rt h e r, th e sou r ce of th e nu isan ce is lik ely to b e with in t h e terri t o r ial au t h ority’s di st ri ct (i .e. t h e l a nd , as de fi ne d i nt h e R M A) , and it is appropriate that t h e t e rritorial au thority locate the s o urce of the nuisan ce. The RM A re q u i rem e nts for re gio n al co u n cils to
m o n ito r m a y e x tendto nu isance m o n ito ring

. For e x am ple, whe r e t h e ca us e of the nuisance is foun d to b e a co n s en tedactiv i t y o r an activ it y cont rol l e d by t h e regi onal c o unci l rath e r th an th e territ o rial lo cal au t h ority, th en resp on si b ility fo r c ont i nue d m oni t o ri ng an d abat em ent rest s with th e reg i onal co un cil. Ot h e r situ ation s whe r e it m a y be m o re appropriate for the regi onal c o unc i l t o carry o u t nui sance m oni t o ri ng i n c l ude w h eni t ha s bee n a g ree d by al l agenci es i n vol ved be f o re t h e begi nni ng o f th e b a t h ing seaso n , andwh ere th e territo rial lo cal au t h ority is to o sm al l to co p e with increase dm oni toring. T h e M e dical Officer of Health m a y n eedto assist th e territo rial lo cal
au tho r ities an d reg i on al councils in d e term i n ing the m o st appropriate a g en cy t o investigate an d
m o n ito r th e nuisan ce.


### Note G(ix): Legal opi n ion on role s and responsibilities A leg a l op in i o n so ugh t b y th e Min i stry fo r the Environm ent found that t h e t w o m a jor piec es of l e gi sl at i on c o n cerne d (the R M A an d Heal t h Act) d i d no t exp licitly d e fin e respon sib ilities fo r beach wate r-quality m onito ring an d re porting. H o w e v e r, th e pr opo sed fr am e w or k is co nsisten t with cu rren t leg i slatio n

.


### Note G(x): The Annapolis Protocol
The A nna p o l i s Pr ot oc ol c o m b i n es a m oni t o ri ng schem e of m i cro b i o l ogi cal t e st i ng wi t h br oa der d a ta co llection o nsources and tran sm issio n of pol l u t i o n. It i n vol ves b o t h an envi ro nm ent a l hazard as sessment and a m i cr obi ological wa terq u a lity assessmen t

. Co un cils and health au t h orities h a v e b e en consulted on t h e concep t an d i m pl em ent a t i on o f a risk-based approac h an d gui d eline values for recreation a l waters. Th e Annap o lis Pro t o c o l fram e wo rk as d e tailed in th e g u i d e lin es h a s b een ad ap tedto su it New Zealandco nd itio ns after trial at 30 Ne w Zealand recre a tional beaches and co nsi d erat i o nby a M a ri ne B a t h i n g Wo rk i ng Gr ou p est abl i s hed f

o r

th e p u r pos e. The sam e app r oach has b een a ppl i e d t o t h e gui del i n es f o r fresh water recreatio n a l u s e, follo wing
co nsid eration an d tria l by t h e Fres hwate r G u id elin es Adv i sory Gr oup

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### G9

## SECTION H: NOTES TO PART II: Guidelines for Recreational Water Quality

Note H(i): Sampling times and periods

Sea s on peri od The bath i n g se aso n peri o d wi l l vary acc or di ng t o lo catio n , bu t will g e n e rally exten d fro m 1 No vem b er t o 3 1 M a rc h. If a beac h i s use d al l ye a r ro undth e g r ad e and w e ek ly mo n ito r i ng sho u l dre fl ect th i s (i .e . s h oul d be base d onda t afo r a pe ri o drel e vant t o usa g e)

. A Su itab ility fo r Recreation Grad e (SFR G) is established for each beac h in the programm e at the begi nni ng of t h e season. T h e SFRG is applicable fo r up to five y ears, provide dthere ar e no si gni fi cant c h ange s wi t h i n t h e cat chm e nt t h at mig h t affect water qu ality. Th e g r ad e p r ov id es an in d i cation o f t

h e ov erall co nd i tio n o f th e site. Weekly sam p ling should cont inue at t h ose beaches g r ad edG ood , F a ir o r P oor. Week ly sam p lin g is requ iredfor d e termin in g t h e pu b lic h ealth risk at a beach. Beac he s grade d Ve ry Good m a y not require ongoing m onitori ng because of the l o w ris k identified. The sam e a pplies to beache s gra d ed Very Poo r , as th ey will g e n e rally b e un su itab l e fo r recreational us e.
R e sou r ce l i m itat i ons m a y restri ct th e num ber o f beache s in a re gion that c a n be m onitored. The g r ad ing system app liedin th ese gu id elin es enab les beache s to be prioritised according to their grade,
an d creates t h e po ten tial to h a v e all b e ach es with in
a re gi o n , ci ty o r di st ri ct gra d e d ove r t i m e. Nu mb e r of sam p le s to co llec t
A m i nim u m of 2 0 sam p l e s sh oul d be c o l l ect ed from each site in the m onitoring programme,
u s ually at week ly in terv als. Add itio n a l samp les
m a y be t a ke n t h r o ug h out t

h e seaso n as a re s u l t o f single-sam p le exceedan ces

. While these do not cont ri b u t e t o t h e rec o m m e nde d 20 sam p l e s, th ey sho u l d be rec o rde di n th e dat abase/ s p r ea dsh eet with all o t h e r sa m p les.

Tim i ng sa mp le co lle c t i on Fi gu re H 1 s h o w s ho w a sam p l i ng regi m e m a y be ti m e d

. In th is in stan ce it en sures th at t h e resu lts
are g e n e rated in tim e to in form th e pu b lic o f th e quality of the beach at t h e time of highest use (the weeke n d). T h ere m a y be other peak tim e s whe n th e reg i m e in Fig u re H1 is not appropriate an d staff s h oul d de sign pr ogrammes accordi ngly.

Flex i b ili ty i n sample timi ng In settin g up a p r og ramm e it i s im p o r tan t to allo w f o r

th e mi n i mu m n u mb e r o f s a mp l e s t o b e co llected(20 )

. Th is will u s u a lly req u i re week ly
m oni t o ri ng , de pen d i n g o n sea s on p e ri o d( w h i ch
m a y vary f r om re gi o n t o re gi o n )

. As sam p l i n g i s not likely t o ta ke place during c o nditions which may present a health an d safe ty hazard (e .g. heavy rain fall, sto r m co nd itio ns, larg e su rf), it is im port a nt t o de si gna weekl y s a m p l i ng pr o g ra m m e th at h a s suffici en t flex ib ility t o allow sam p lin g to take place as s o on a s practica l after a d verse co nd itio ns h a ve ab ated. Th is may also b e tter reflect th e cond itio n s und er wh ich p e op le are
s w immin g

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H1We dnesda y Sa m p lin g 11 a m – 2 pm Thur sday Re sult: sing le > 28 0/10 0 ml Sam p le
ana lysis

Thur sday Re s a mple befor e 2 p m Fr iday Re su lt : sing le > 28 0/100 ml Sam p le
an al y s i s

Fr iday Communi cati on s t ra te gy i m pl e m en te d an d pub lic infor m ed

Fi gure H1 : E x ampl e of a pr op osed sam p l i n g s t r a te g y ( m ari n e w a ters )

24- hour re- s ampli n g requirement

Marine w a ters Fo r m a rin e wat e rs wh en sam p lin g retu rn s a resu lt exceedi n g the action le vel th reshold, the guidelines requ ire a fo llow-up sam p le with in 24 ho urs o f receiving t h e first res u lt. The purpose of t h e fo llow-up sam p le is to en sure th at th e first sa m p le is no t an ano m aly an dt h at th e prob lem is p e rsisten t b e fore in itiatin g a pu b lic n o tificatio n pl an. Ideally, re sampling s h ould take place wit h in 2 4 hou rs of receiv in g a h i gh resu lt. Wh ile t h is doe s not pre s e n t a pr o b l e m for ur ban beac he s, lo g i stically it may n o t b e po ssib le fo r m o re rem o te lo catio n s

. In su ch in stan ces re-sam p lin g sh ou ld t a ke pl ace bet w een2 4 an d 7 2 ho u r s a f t e r re cei vi ng a h i gh resu lt. If a sam p lin g ag en cy h a s remo te sites it m a y b e pos si bl e t o ar range f o r

an othe r o r gani sat i o nt o collect sam p les and tran s p ort t h em to a local lab o rato ry fo r an alysis. Health ag en cies, territo rial lo cal au t h orities or co mm u n i t y o r g an i satio n s m a y be a b l e assi st wi t h sam p l i ng, an d c oul d be p a rticu l arly u s efu l for re-sam p lin g in rem o te lo catio n s

. Freshwaters No fo llow-up sa m p le is requ iredto confirm an exceedan ce of the alert-le ve l thres h old. T h ere are two reaso n s for th is: th e d i l u tio n fact o r is likely to b e less t h an fo r m a rin e waters resu lting in m o re extrem e exceedance s; and potentially higher
co n c en tr ation s an d a g r eater ran g e of p a thogen s m a y be p r esent in fres h waters.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H2

### Note H(ii): Techniques for taking and analysing s a mples

Where to s a m p le Water-qu ality sam p les sh ou ld b e tak e n fro m th e area whe r e s w i m m i ng occ u rs. I n ge neral , t h e sam p le will b e tak e n at app r ox im a t ely 1 5 cm below the s u rface at a poi nt whe r e t h e dept h of water is 0

. 5 m e tres fo r m a rin e water, and 30 cm below the s u rface at a poi nt whe r e t h e dept h of water is 1 m e tre f o r fre sh wate r.

Mu lt i p le sa mp l e s i t e s So m e ti mes it may b e d e sirable to tak e m u lti p l e sam p les along a beac h, particularly where a beach
ex tend s for some d i stan ce and o n e sam p le po in t is not re prese n tative of t h e whol e beac h. T h e way m

u l tip le sa m p les are i n corp oratedin to resu lt s will vary. If sam p les are ta ken at considera b le distances from each othe r, t h e n eac h of the
sam p l e s sho u l d be c o nsi d e r ed an i n di vi du al s a m p l e site. Howev e r, if m u ltip le sam p les are tak e n fro m a sm all beach (e.g. with th e purpose of trying to finda po ten tial sou r ce of con t a m in atio n ) , th en th ese will n eed to b e treated differen tly, and th e hi g h est val u e s h o u l d be t a ke n as t h e m a xim u m for the whole bea c h

.
Sam p le c o ll ec ti on te chni ques At th e tim e o f sam p lin g , en ter in a logb ook (fo r later tran scrip t i o n to a sam p le sh eet) d e tails of weat he r c o n d i t i ons ( w i n d s p e e d an d di rect i o n, rain fall), water te m p erature, salin ity, an d
o b s erv a tio ns o f con d ition s su ch as tu rb id ity or discol oration, and any unusual circum stances affecting t h e si te (e.g . seaweed , j e llyfish). The follo win g steps fo r sam p ling ar e recom m ended. i. En su re th at th e bo ttle is clearly lab e lledfor later sam p le id en tificatio n

. i i

. Im m e di at el y befo re sam p l e col l ect i on, rem ove th e bo ttle cap wh ile en su ring th at th e i n n e r o f th e cap is p r o t ectedfro m so ilin g. Th e lab o rato ry g e nerally supp lies sterile co n t ai n e rs of a s u itable si ze. iii. Q u ick l y p l unge th e b o ttle up s id e dow n to t h e requ iredsam p lin g d e p th set fo r th e site. (For marin e water t h e sam p le will b e tak e n at approxim a tely 15–20 cm below the s u rface a t a po in t wh ere t h e d e p t h o f water is 0.5 m e tre s ; for fresh water th e sam p le will b e tak e n at approxim a tely 30 cm below t h e s u rface whe r e th e d e p t h of t h e water is appro x i m a tely 1 m e t r e.) iv

. Tilt th e bo ttle u n til th e n e ck p o i n t s sligh tly up wards , wi t h th e m out h di re ct ed t o war d s t h e cu rren t. Th e bo ttle can b e m o v e d fo rward h o rizon t ally u n til filledif n ecessary. Co m p letel y fill th e b o ttle.

v
. Rap i d l y bring t h e b o ttle to th e surface and pour out a sm a ll portion (lea ve a s p ace of 2–3
cm ) t o perm i t pr o p er m i xi ng fo r an al y s i s

. Qu ick l y fit th e cap an d secu re tig h tly. vi. Record the time of sam p le col l ection an d ch eck sam p le id en tification lab e llin g

. vii. Place in a chilly bin c o ntaining frozen slicke r pad s

.
Sa mpling aft e r wet weather
Th e gu id elin es r e late to sam p l e s tak e n thr ough ou t th e to tal b a th ing season irrespectiv e of weather
co nd itio ns. Resu lts influ e n c ed b y rai n fall sho u l d not be e x cl u d e d : pe o p l e d o s w i m short l y aft e r a rain fall ev en t, an d it is im p o r tan t to sam p le wh en p e op le are lik ely to b e swimmin g

. Th is m a y b e particular ly so fo r fres h w a ter lakes an d rive r s

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H3Th e sep ar a tio n of d ry-w eath e r an d w e t-w eat h e r d a ta is also imp r actical b ecause th e d e fi n ition o f th e two is p r oble m atic. Fo r ex am p l e, co astal water
can be less polluted i n the earl y stages of a wet sp ell bu t m o re p o llu ted wh en th e weat h e r h a s b eco m e fin e just after sub s tantial rain fall; the
reve rse can be tr ue i n est u ar i e s.

Sa fety The sa fety o f field o ffice rs is vital and s h o u l d be taken i n to account when selec ting sam p le sites with respect t o entering t h e water.

Tr an sp ortin g sam p les Th e sam p le sho u l d b e tran spo r tedto th e analytical lab o rato ry as qu ick l y as facilities allo w, p r eferab ly
w ith in six ho urs, bu t no long er th an 24 h o u r s. Wh en it is no t p o s sib l e to h a ve th e sam p les analysed by the local labo rat o ry , a c o u r ier s h o u ld be arrange d we l l i n ad van ce. C o u r i e r c o m p ani e s can be request e d to m a ke a pi ck-up from the
co un cil in tim e to co urier t h e sam p les to th e lab o r a to ry on t h e sam e d a y or ov ern i gh t. Sam p les sh ou l d b e p ackedin ch illy b i ns (p o l ystyren e b i n s are su fficien t ) with ice p a ck s to k e ep t h em co o l

. It

i s part i c ul arl y im port a nt t

h a t sam p l e s anal y s ed fo r E. co li are analysed withi n 24 hours of
sam p ling, as bacteria m a y begin t o die or re plicate, d e p e nd ing o nsto r ag e co nd ition s andth e statu s o f th e water sam p le.
Doc u m e nt at i on of th e tr an s p ort hi st o ry an d of al l those w h o hav e handl e dth e s a m p l e sh oul d
accom p any all sam p les. This is known as a c hai n of

cu st o d y
. On arriv a l at t h e lab o ratory the sam p les sh ouldb e placed i n a re frigerator, an d an alysed within two hours of receipt (par ticul arly for enteroc o cci and E. c o li ; di ffe re nt t i m e fact ors m a y be ap pl i cabl e f o r othe r m i cro-o r gani sm s). T h e anal y t i cal l abo rat o ry shoul drec o rd the tim es of sa m p le receipt and analysis. Whe r e an al y s i s f o r othe r m i cro- or gani sm s i s requ ired , ob tain sp ecific instru ctio ns fro m th e analytical laboratory.

Labo rato ry t e c h n i qu es M a ri ne st udi es ha ve gene ral l y co ncl u ded t h at enterococci ar e the indicator of c hoice for t h e prese n ce of fae cal polluti on. The recomm ended
m e thod f o r t h e i r det ect i o n i nth e Recrea tional Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es are th e Mem b ran e Filter (MF) Test Meth odfo r En teroco cci in Water as d e scr i b e d in Do cu m e n t No

. EPA

- 82 1- C-97 -0 04 , an d En tero lertTM (no t e: En tero lertTM m a y n o t b e considere dsuit ab le for state of the environm ent
m o n ito rin g and rep o rtin g du e t o in ad eq u a te d e tectio n li m i t s ).
The a b ove m e tho d has bee n e v al uat e d f

o r

m a ri ne wat e rs an d has t h e ad vant age of gi vi n g re sul t s i n 24 h o u rs

. Earl i e r m e thods ga ve a res u l t wi th i n 4 8 hou rs. Th e v a lu e of th is for m o n ito ring ag en cies is to be ab le to id en tify alert, an d actio n level excee dances m o re quickly.
For sim i lar rea s ons, i n fres hwater where E. c o liis th e ind i cato r of cho i ce, C o lilertTM and EPA
m e thod 1103.1, 1985 Mem b rane Filter Met h od for E. c o li are t h e pre f er

red m e thods t o enum erat e Esch erich i a coli. B o th m e t hods gi ve a re sul t with in 24 h ours.
Q u a l ity cont ro l Labo ratories co ndu ctin g testin g fo r m o n ito ri n g agencies m u st be a b le to dem onst r ate com p e t ence. Id

ea lly th is mea n s an IANZ accred ited l

a bo ra to ry. It is essen tial th at labo rat o ries h a v e do cu m e n t ed q u a lity assurance pro c edu r es. Th is do es no t h a v e to b e in t h e form o f v e ry d e tai l edm a n u a ls, bu t th e b a sic p r o cedures of th e labo rato ry m u st b e written do w n

. It nee d s t o be qui t e cl e a r what pr oce d ures are being used and exactly how the tests are being carried ou t. Al l k e y activ ities m u st b e doc um ent e d, an d eve ry o n e i n vol ved i n t e st i n g – fro m sa m p le co llecto r t o th e p e rson repo rting th e r e su lts

– m u st h a v e a thor ough u n d e r s tand ing o f

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H4th eir respon sibilit ies an d du ties, an y prob lem s th at coul d ar i s e, an d ho w t h ey s h o u l d be deal t wi th

. All activ ities un d e rtak en m u st b e reco rd ed so th at it is q u ite clear, fro m th e tim e of co llectio n of th e sam p le to th e rep o rting o f resu lts, wh at action s were t a ke n, by wh om and w h e n

. In showing c o m p etence, laboratories nee dt o co nsid er p articip atio n i n an i n ter-labo r at o ry p r o f icien c y prog ramm e, sp ik edsam p les, sp lit
sam p les, du p licates, po sitiv e an d n e g a tiv e co n t ro ls, b o t h with in t h e lab o ratory and in co llab o rative tests with o th e r lab o ratories.

N e w met hod va lidat i o n New m e thods m u st be pr o v e n t o p r ovi de re sul t s eq u i v a len t i n sen s itiv ity an d sp ecificity to tho s e o f th e p r efe rre d t e st m e thods f o r th e wat e rs bei n g tested

. Statisti cal an alysis of p a rallel test resu lts
m

u st show st r o ng l i n ear co rrel a t i on an d n o si gni fi cant di ff erence bet w ee n t h e m e thods by pai r e d t -test an alysis.



### Note H(iii): Establishing a Sanitary Inspection Category ( S IC) The following steps ar e re qu iredto d e term in e an SIC. i. Carry o u t an i n itial d e sk top analysis b a sed on hi st ori cal i n f o r

m at i on. ii. Use Parts A, B andC o f th e C a tch m en t Assessm en t Check list to h e lp i d en tify relev an t informatio n abou t th e site. iii. Use Part D o f th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Ch eck list to iden tify th e pres ence of source s of faecal c o ntamination likely to ca use e ffect s in th e water bod y. iv. If m o re t h an one s o urce is present, t h en cho o se th e m o st im port a nt

. I m port a nce i s assessed in term s o f th e su scep tib ility o f th e water body t o faecal influe nce

. For e x am ple, a continual m oderate s o urce of faecal cont am i n at i on m a y be co nsi d ered m o re im portant t h an an occasional but high-loa d faecal source. This m a y requi re s p ecific p a tho g e n testing to d e term in e th e so urce o f greater im pact.

v. Locate the num ber correspondi ng to t h e m o st si gni fi cant i m pact i n th e SIC f l ow c h ar t (Figu r e H2) to d e term in e th e SIC.
It

i s i m port a nt t o rec o gni se t h ere are tw o que st i ons to be answe r ed in Part D of t h e catchm e nt
assessm en t ch eck list. Th e first is “ Is it prese n t ”. Th e pu rp ose o f th is q u e stion i s to d e term in e th e prese n ce of a potential source of faecal
co n t am in atio n to th e recreation a l site. Th e seco nd que st i o n“ Is it likely to c a use an effect ” d e term in es, aft e r ev alu a tion , i f th e po ten tial so urce of faecal c o ntaminati on actua lly affects the recreation a l site, thu s po sing a risk.

I n it ia l de skto p a s se ss m e nt b e fo re sa n i ta ry inspecti on Start the as sess ment of the s a nitary status of a recreation a l site with a rev i ew of its prev iou s hi st ory an d, w h ere ap pl i cable , an assessm ent of wh at t r igg e rs po llu tio n even ts, in clud ing when an d how t h e gui delines are exc eeded.
Whe n c o nsi d e r i ng hi st o r i cal m i crobi ol ogi ca l dat a t o hel p det e rm ine ca usal rel a t i ons hi ps, bear i n min dth e lim ita tio n s

– un d e r so m e co n d ition s – of th e i n di cat or (e nt er ococc i/faec al coliform ) us ed. Add itio n a l i n form at io n , su ch as th at set o u t i n Parts A, B and C of the Catc hm ent Assessm ent C h eckl i s t , m a y be nee d ed t o v e ri fy th e c ause of elevated i ndica tor le vels, an d may already be
av ailab l e in th e h i storical in form at io n

.
Ca rry ing out a sani ta ry inspect i on Gen e rally, lo cal au tho r ities will h a v e GIS syste m s o r

m a p s to id en tify th e im p o rtan t kn own d i sch arg es an d con d ition s t h at co u l dcau s e an issue. T h e init ial e m phasis of any asse ssm ent sho u l dbe on p o t e nt i a l cause s fr om kno w n d i sch arg es an d ex isting co nd i tio n s , id en tified u s ing resource information, local data and hist oric al

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H5in fo rm atio n

. In ad d ition , i d en tifyin g wh at i s no t know n is im p o rtan t

. Ga ps i n th e k n o wl e dge abo u t
an ar ea can be addresse d i n a catchm e nt in sp ection , as well as b y rev i ewing k nown ex istin g co nd itio ns.
To as sess t h e i mmediate area and catchm e nt data,
an an notated map of the beac h and catchm e nt is require d

. T h e checklist can be use dt o verify that all asp ects an d ar eas th at shouldb e in clud ed in th e
m a p ha ve bee nad ded

. Qu esti o n s th at requ ire i n fo rm atio n for an no t a tio n may in clu d e :
num ber of bat h ers •

•

•

•

•

•

•

• lo catio n of o x i d a tio n pon ds duc k p o n d s bi r d

- r o o st i n g ar eas (day t i m e and ni ght t i m e) boat an c h o r an d m oori n g area s p o s sib ility o f sep tic tank seepag e l o cat i on o f s w a m ps and m a ng ro ves location of was t ewater t r eat m e nt an d di s pos al sy st em s and e f fl ue nt o u t f al l s

. Possi ble conta m ination s o urc e s (rivers, st rea m s, st orm w at er dr a i ns out fal l s ) s h oul d be i n cl u d e d i n th e m a p o f th e san itary in sp ectio n area. Wh ere available, m a ps of the entire catchm e nt area in d i cating land u s e, topo gr aphy an d inf r a structu r e netw or ks (i .e. wast ewat er an d st orm drai ns y st em s etc.) s h ould als o be attache d

.
Base c o ndi ti ons for es tablis hin g a S a ni tary In sp ec ti on Cate gor y Al l beac hes wi l l have bee n re cog n i s e d as ha vi n g contact recreati onal acti v ity, so a factor for hum a nt o - hum an tr an s m i ssi on o f di se ase d u ri ng recreat i o nal act i v i ty i s not i n cl ude d. A si ngl e m o st significant s o urce of faecal c o ntamination ha s bee n use dto categorise the beach. This is beca use a second source, even of sim ilarm a gnitude, can only increase t h e ris k by a factor of two and a s s u c h is of

l i m i t e d si gni fi cance i n m i crobi ol o g i cal t e r m s. Ot he r i m pact s not i n cl u d e da b o v e m a y pr od uce an ‘u ne xpecte dr e sult re qui rin g v e rification ’ inthe g r ad ing m a trix (Tab les D2 andE2 ). Th is sou r ce sh ou l d b e id en t i fiedin th e ‘mo r e d e tailed in v e stig ation’ su gg estedin th e no te to Part D o f th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Check list.
No te: Th e Sa n i ta ry In sp ection Ca tego ry ( S

IC

) is b a s ed on t h e use o f

, and m o n i to ring fo r, fa eca l indicato r bacteria to support r i sk assess me nt. As d i

scu s sed in t h e in trodu ctio n, wh ere th ere a r e d i

scha rg es o f t

r ea ted efflu en t en tero co cci a l o n e
are n o t a n a p

p r op ri at e i n di ca t o r of p u b l i c he al t h risk. I f

pa thogen m o n ito ri n g is ca rried o u t t h en th e SIC ca tegory fo r tertia ry trea ted wa stew a t er di

sch a r g e may be ame n ded

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H6

### Note H(iv): Catchment Assessment Checklist (CAC) fo r marine recreational waters The purpose of the chec klist is to identify pote ntia l c a tchment ris k fac t ors for use in establishing the Sanit a r y I n sp ection C a te g o r y (SI C ).
Si t e / a rea nam e :

____________________________________________________________________________ Typ e o f site: O p en coa s ta l be a c h

________ Estu arin e

_________ Enclose d bay

______ Other

_______ Locat i o n:

_________________________________________________________________________________ M a p re fere nce s : Lat i t ude

__________________________ Lo ngi t u de

____________________________ Nam e of l o cal auth ori ty (s pec i fy auth ori ty re spo n si bl e)

_____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Nam e of pers o n c o m p l e t i ng c h eckl i s t ( f

o r c o m p il i ng re p o rt ) :

________________________________________ C

h eck an d t i c k al l t

h at ap pl

y an d not e fi n d i n gs f o r s u bse q uent re port .

P a r t A: L a nd use Type of l and o r hum an act i v i ty sur r o u ndi n g t h e recreat i o nal si t e

. Land c o ver/ge ography
For e st / b u s h Past u r e Ur ban Swam p/m a ngr ove s R i ver/ st ream / i r ri gat i o n San d du n e s H i l l y F l a t
Urb a n Resid e n tial (p op u l ation d e n s ity) Co mmercial Indu stry (sp eci fy) H o t e l Har b ou r Air p o r t Ro ad/r a i l Military /p r i s o n (restricted area s) O t h e r p o t en tially p o llu ting activity (please specify ) San itary landfills/o lddu m p s Disposal of human wastes (de g ree an d t y pe of t r eat m e nt applied - (plea s e speci fy) ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H7Pa rt B: Ru ra l la nd us e Indicate the presence of the followi n g fo r ag ricu ltu ral lan d u s e. Shee p D a i ry / b e e f H o r s e s P i g s D e e r Pou l t r y F e r a l Is the r e dispos al of anim al wastes ? (please specify ) ____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________

____________________________________________________________
P a r t C: W a te r us es Indicate the presence of the fo llowi ng for the m a rine area.
M a ri n a Fi s h bo at be rth s Perm anent b o a t m oori ngs Har b ou r Tem porary boa t m oori ngs Ferry be rt h

Ad d

itio na l infl uencing fa cto r s Si

ze of b a t h i n g are a : Area
_____ m 2 Len g th
______ m M ean wi dt h

______ m
Is t h e r e a beac h? Ave r a g e area

_____ m 2 Len g th
______ m W i dt h at l o w t i de

______ m W i dt h at hi g h t i de

______ m Are th ere lagoo n s used fo r b a th in g ? Is th e beac h su bject t o a b ove av erag e seasonal/h o lid ay lo adin g ? Di rect i o n of p r evai l i ng o n s h o r e wi n d s

_______ Di rect i o n of p r evai l i ng wat e r cur r ent s

_______ Shoreline confi g uration/ge om orphol ogy/eros i on gullies:

________________

_____________________________________________________________ Prese n ce of sand bars Prese n ce of su r f : ave r age wa v e hei g ht s

_______ To ta l ra i n fa ll Tot a l an nu al :

_______ m m Seaso n al pa t t e r n s:

______________________________________________

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H8Pa rt D: M i crob i o l og ica l haza r d s Sew a ge an d a n i m al w a st e Is th e water q u ality in th e recreatio n a l area af fected , or likely to be affected by : Is it prese n t ? Is it lik ely to cause an effect ? 1 di scharge o f u n tr eat ed h u m a n e ffl ue nt ont o or ad jace nt t o a recreat i onal
area 2 sto r m w ater ou t l ets with p o t ential sewag e con t amin atio n / co m b in ed storm w ater out l et onto or a d ja cent to a rec r ea tional area 3 ur ban st o r m w at er th at i s pr ot e c t e d f r om sewa ge i n g r ess 4 on -si t e o r ot he r p r i v at e se wag e di s posal sy st em s (e.g . se pt i c t a nk o r packa g e plan t) 5 co mm u n a l sewag e d i spo s al o r prim ary o r seco nd ary treatm e n t facilities 6 co mm u n a l sewag e d i spo s al with tertiary treat m en t facilities 7 in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral u s e i n i mmed i ate catc h m e n t an d po t e n tial for run of

f fr om unt rea t ed ani m al effl uent (e. g

. dai ry i ng, pi gge ri es, m i l k i ng she d s) 8 th e in ciden c e an d d e n s ity of bir d life (p articularly wh ere lago on s or estu arin e cond i tio n s ex ist) 9 water craft m o o r i n g or u s e (fo r bo ats, prox i m it y, d e nsities an d pu m p out s )

.

Y e s N o Is th e r e a ri ve r or stream (i ncl udi ng a pi pe d s tream ) di schar g i n g i n t o th e recreational area ? If ‘Yes’ co m p lete Qu estio n s 1 0–1 5 to d e termin e an effect.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H9River/stream dischar g e influences Is th e water q u ality o f an y river o r stream d i sch a rg ing i n to th e recreation a l area affected or likely to be affected by : Is it prese n t ? Is it lik ely to
cause an e ffect ? 10 di scharge o f u n t r eat ed h u m a n e ffl ue nt , p r i m ary or seco n d ary wastewater tre a tm ent plant discharge, on- site or o th e r pr iv ate sew a g e disposal syste m s (e.g. se ptic tank) 11 st orm w at er o u t l et s wi t h pot e n t i a l sewage c o nt am i n at i on/ co m b i n ed storm w ater out l et 1 2 co mm u n a l sewag e d i spo s al with tertiary treat m en t facilities 1 3 h i gh -i n t en sity ag ricu ltu ral/ru r al activ ities, in cid e n ce andd e n s ity o f feral an im al /b ird pop u l ation 14 focal p o i n t s of drai nage , as r u n- of f fr om l o w - i n t e nsi ty agric u lture/ u rban/rural catc h ment 15 pote n tial fo r ru n- of f fr om fera l anim als (e.g. fo rest or b u s h ).

Other in fluenc es I s i t prese n t ? Is it lik ely to cau s e an e ffect ? 16 t i d al m ovem e nt s or o n s h ore w i nds th at are l i k el y t o carry w a t e r pol l u t e d by u n t r eat ed / pri m ary / seco ndary tr eat ed e ffl uent or o n si t e waste treatm e nt syste m s into the recreational area 17 t i d al m ovem e nt s or o n s h ore w i nds th at are l i k el y t o carry w a t e r p o llu ted b y tert iary treated wastew ater int o t h e recreational area.

Further c o nsi d

erations
Y e s N o Do es rai n fall trig g e r co n t am in atio n ev en ts ? Do es m i cro b i olo g i cal water qu ality d a ta ex ceedth e n a ti o n a l g u i d e lin es (280 single-sa m ple exceed ance) on any occ a sion ? Is th ere add itio n a l inform atio n im p l yin g risk (su c h as no tifiedilln ess related to recreation a l water activ ities) ?
Note: If the box is ticked indi cating th e pres ence of any of t h e above micr obi ological hazar ds, t h e ans w er as to wh eth e r it is cau s ing an effect ma y b e ob vious (e.g . d i scha rg e o f

human o r an ima l efflu ent o n to o r ad ja cen t to a
recrea tion a l a r ea )

. If it is un clea r wh et h e r it is cau s in g an e f f

ect , a m o re d e ta i l e d i n vest i g

at i o n m a y be r e qui re d to estab lish rela tive impo rt a n ce an d magn i tu d e o

f

t

h e effect.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H10Efflue nt, w a ste w ater storm w ater (dir ect to re crea ti ona l w a t e r) Effl ue nt , com b in ed se wer d i sch arg e s (C SO); se wer over flow s R e cei v es u n tre a ted/ 1 ° or 2 ° tre a ted disc ha rg e to bea ch o r ad ja cen t are a O n -sit e wa ste tr ea tm en t sy st em s C A C r e f

e r

e n ce: 1, 4 , 5 , 16 Ve ry h i g h

T r

eate d ter t i a ry w a s t e w a t e r d i sch arge to be ach or ad ja cen t are a CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 6 , 17 Hi gh

U r ban storm w at e r ; m a rin a s o r m oori n g s (b o a ts) ; dire ct ru n-off from intens ive a g ric u ltur e CA C r e f

e r

e n ce: 2, 7 , 9 Hi gh

U r ban storm w at e r n o t co ntam in at e d by sew a ge CA C r e f

e r

e n ce: 3, 8 Mod e r a te

R e cei v es u n tre a ted/ 1 o or 2 o w a ste w at e r tre a tm ent di scha r ge; on -site w a s t e tr eatm ent system s CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 1 0 Hi gh R i ver/ strea m di sch a r ge

Re cei v es t e rti a r y tre a ted disc ha rg e, co m b in ed s e w e r di scha r ge s , sewe r ove r fl o

w s, i n te n s ive use i n ag ricu lt u r al/ r ural catc hm ent, si gn ifi c ant fera l b i r d / a ni ma l p o pu l a t i o n C A C r e f

e r

e n ce: 11 , 1 2 , 13 Mod e r a te

Ru n-of f from l o w-in t e n s it y agr icu l t u ral/ urba n / ru r a l cat c hm en t CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 1 4 Lo w

B u s h , fo r e s t , et c CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 1 5 Ve ry l o w

Ve ry l o w N o s i g n ific an t s ourc e

Figure H2: Sanitar y I n spec tion Cate gor y fl ow char t for marine recre ational waters

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H11

### Note H(v): Microbiological Assessment Category ( M AC) for marine recreational waters
The Microbiol ogical Assess ment Category is cal cul a t e d on t h e basi s of fi ve y ears of hi st o r i cal d a ta (at least 10 0 d a ta po in ts). Data co llected du ri n g or i m medi at el y fol l o w i ng rai n fal l , as part
o f

ro u tin e samp lin g, sho u l d be in clud ed in th e cal cul a t i on of th e M A C

. The pu r pose o f t

h e M A C i s t o gi v e an i ndi cat i o n of ge neral wat e r q u a lity ov er an ex tend ed p e ri o d , to allo w for
v a riation s i n cl i m at ic co nd ition s

. Th e M A C is
u s edin conj unctio n with t h e San itary In sp ectio n Categ o ry (SIC) to d e term in e th e Su itab ility fo r Recreation Gra d e, an d to confirm th at th e selected SIC is accurate , base d on hist orical water-qu ality resu lts.
No te: Fo llo w-up sa mp les fro m an a l ert o r act i o n m o de re spo n se sh o u l d not be i n cl u d e d

i n th e da ta used to g e n e ra te an MAC. If using th e
so

ftwa r e p r o v id ed b y

th e Ministry fo r th e En vironmen t to g e n e ra te g rad es, fo llo w-up
sa mp les will need to b e removed fro m th e d

a t

a s et p r io r to impo rting

. S

ee S ection D.3 for MAC d e fin itio n s

. Change i n indicators If a chan ge bet w een indicators is m a de, there
m a y be l i m i t e d am ount s of da t aavai l abl e i nth e in itial years o f i m p l e m en tatio n

. To o v e rco m e th is, co rrectio n factors ap p r opria te to lo ca l

co nd itio ns can be a ppl i e d t o h i st ori cal rec o r d s. Suc h c o n v e r si o n fact or s wo ul d no rm al ly be base d on the re sults of l o cal an alyses.
For m a ny locations there will be a large am ount of

hi st o r i cal da t aavai l abl e t h a t can be use df o r p r elim in ary recreatio n a l water env i ro n m en t classificatio n

. If t h is d a ta in cl u d e s an alysis fo r en tero co cci, there will b e n o p r ob lem u s in g th e dat a

. H o we ve r , m a ny recreat i onal wat e r en v i ron m en t man a g e rs will h a v e d a ta b a sed only on coliform and faecal c o liform counts

. Alth oug h th ere is no ex act rel a tio n s h i p b e tween enterococci an d E. co li co unt s, a rel a t i ons hi p exp r esse d by t h e fol l o wi n g e quat i o n ( W H O 2 001 ) m a y h e l p in in terp reti ng h i sto r ical d a t a : lo g 10 (faecal c o liform ) = 1. 02 8 + 0

. 6 0 1 l o g 10 (ent er oc oc ci )
Ev en m o re h e l p fu l are th e fo llo wing sim p ler form s o f th is eq u a tion , relating en tero co cci t o faecal coliform s and vice vers a: faecal coliform = 10 .67(e n terococci ) 0.601 enterococci = 0.0 195(faecal coliform ) 1.67
Usin g t h e fi rst fo rm ula, a co u n t o f 7 0 enterococci e q uates to 137.1 faecal coliform s

. Using t h e sec o nd form ula, a c o unt of 100 fae cal col i f o r m s / 100 m L equat e s t o 42 .7 ent e roc o c c i / 10 0 m L

. Howev e r, th is eq u i v a len c e is n o t ex act as it is base d on the re lationshi p between faecal coliform and faecal stre pt ococcal/enteroc oc ci
co un ts i n Un itedKing do m b a th ing waters aft e r cens o ring ze ro values

. If po ssib le, lo cal recreat i o nal

- w a t e r en vi r onm ent m a nagers sh ou l d d e fin e th e relatio n s h i p th at ex ists i n t h eir
ow n wat e rs

.


### Note H(vi): Suitability for recreation grade for marine recreational waters
Expl a n at i o n of grades Beaches ar e graded by c o nsidering
m i crobi ol ogi ca l m oni t o ri ng re sul t s f r om p r ev iou s years in co m b in ation with t h e factors in the catc h m e nt that m a y contribute fa ecal contam ination to the beac h. It is a ris k

associated grading of th e b each , m ean in g th at it provides an i n dication of what the likely
co nd itio n of t h e b each will b e on an y d a y. Th e f o llow i ng g e n e r a l exp l an ation pr ov id es a descri ption of each of the bea c h gra d es.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H12Very go od Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ve ry go od water qu ality (see Tab l e D2 fo r d e tails). There may b e so m e ru n-o f f fro m lo w-i n ten s ity ag ricu ltu ral/urb an / r ural catchments, but the r e are likely to be no si gnifi cant sources of faec al cont am i n at i on.
Recomme ndat ion: Con s id ered sa tisfa cto r y fo r
sw i mmi n g at al l t i m es, an d t h e r ef ore may n o t require monitoring on a re gular basis.

Good Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y g oodwater quality (see Tab l e D2 for d e tails). Onocca si o n s ( s uc h as a f t e r hi gh rai n fal l ) t h e r e may be an i n creased risk of c ontam ination from run-off. Suc h sites recei ve run-off from one or
m o re of t h e fol l owi n g so urce s an d m a y cont a i n anim a l or human faecal m a ter i al:

•

•

• •

•

•

•

•

• river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral/ru r al catch m en ts, feral bi r d/ a ni m a l popul at i o ns ri ver di sc har g e s i m pact ed by ; ru n- o ff fr om lo w-in ten s ity ag ricu ltu ral/urban /ru r al catchm e nt
storm w ater not contam inated by sewage

. Recomme ndat ion: Sa tisfa ctory fo r swi mmi ng most of t h e time. Exce ptions may include f

o l l o w i ng rai n f

a l l

. Suc h be ac hes are m oni t o red regu la rly throughou t th e summ er sea s o n and

wa rn i n g sign s will b e erected if wa ter qu a lity det e ri orat es. Fa ir Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y fair water qu ality (see Tab l e D2 for d e tails). Eve n ts s u ch as high rainfall i n crease the ris k of cont am i n at i on l e vel s f r om r

un- of f. Su ch sites receive run-off from one or more of the fol l o wi n g s o ur ces an d m a y cont ai n an i m al or hum an faecal material: river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral/ru r al catch m en ts, feral bi r d/ a ni m a l popul at i o ns ri ver di sc har g e s i m pact ed by r u n - of f f

r o m lo w-in ten s ity ag ricu ltu ral/urban /ru r al catchm e nt
storm w ater not contam inated by sewage

. Recomme ndat ion: Gen e ra lly sa tisfa ctory for swim m i ng , thou gh t h ere a r e m a n y po ten tia l

sou r ces of f

a ec al m a t e ri al

. C aut i o n sh o u l d be ta ken du ring perio d s o

f

h i gh ra in f

a ll, and

sw i mmi n g av oi ded i f

w a t e r i s di scoloure d

. S i t e s
are monitore d weekly and w a rning si gns erected if wa ter qu a lity d e terio r a t es.

Poor Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y p oor water q u a lity (see Tab l e D2 fo r d e tails). These si t e s rec e i v e r u n- of f fr om one or m o re o f the following s o urces an d m a y contain anim al or hum a n faec al m a terial: tertiary treated wastewater

ur

ban st o r m w at er, m a ri nas o r m oori ngs , in ten s iv e agricu ltu re ri ver di sc har g e s co nt ai ni n g u n t reat ed / prim ary / secondary treate d wastewater or on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H13• •

•

•

•

• river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral/ru r al catch m en ts, feral bi r d/ a ni m a l popul at i o ns.
Recomme ndat ion: Ge nera l l y n o t ok ay f o r
sw i mmi n g , as i ndi c a t e d by hi s t ori c al res u l t s

. Sw i mmi n g s h o u l d

be av oi de d, p a rt i c ularl y b y the very y o ung, the very ol d and those with

co mp ro mised i m mun ity. Perman en t wa rn ing signs may be e r ected at these sites, although councils may monitor these s ites weekly and post t e m porary w a r n i n gs.
Very po or Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ve ry po or water qu ality (see Tab l e D2 fo r d e tails). These sites receive run-off from one or m o re of the fol l o wi n g s o ur ces an d m a y cont ai n an i m al or hum an faecal material: unt reated/primary/secondary treated wastewater on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s tertiary treated wastewater

ur

ban st o r m w at er, m a ri nas o r m oori ngs , in ten s iv e agricu ltu re ri ver di sc har g e s co nt ai ni n g u n treat ed/ prim ary/secondary treat e dwastewater or on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s.
Recomme ndat ion: Avoi d sw i mmi ng , as t h er e
are di rect di sc har ges of f

a ec al m a t e ri al

. Perma n e n t si

gn ag e will b e erected a t t

h e b e a c h stat i n g t

h at sw i mmi ng i

s not r ecom m e nde d.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H14

### Note H(vii): Catchment Assessm ent Ch ecklist for freshwater recreational areas The purpose of the chec klist is to identify pote ntia l c a tch ment ri s k f

a c t ors of f

a ec al c o nt ami n a t i o n for freshwater re creati onal water quality.
Si t e / a rea nam e :

____________________________________________________________________________ Typ e o f site: Lake

____________________________ River/Stream

_________________________________ Locat i o n: _________________________________________________________________________________ M a p re fere nce s : La titud e

_______________________ Lo ngi t u de

____________________________________ Nam e of l o cal auth ori ty (s pec i fy auth ori ty re spo n si bl e)

_____________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Na me o f perso n co mpleting checklist (fo r co mpiling repo r t):

______________________________________ C

h eck an d t i c k al l t

h at ap pl

y an d not e fi n d i n gs f o r s u bse q uent re port .

P a r t A: L a nd use Typ e o f lan d or h u m an activ ity affecting t h e recreation a l site.
L a nd c o ver/ ge ogr ap hy

F o r e s t/ b u s h P a s tu r e Ur ban Wetlan d s Riv e r/stream /ir rig a tion H i l l y F l a t
Urb a n

Resid e n tial (p op u l ation d e n s ity) Co mmercial Military/prison (re stricted ar e a s) I n d u s t r y (pleas e specify )

_____________________ San itary landfills/o lddu m p s Oth e r p o t en tially p o llu ting act iv ity (p lease specify)

_________________________________________ Disposal of human or an im a l wastes (de g ree an d t y pe of t r eat m e nt ap pl i e d – please s p ecify) ____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

____________________________________________________

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H15Pa rt B: Ru ra l la nd us e Indicate the presence of the followi n g fo r ag ricu ltu ral lan d u s e. Shee p D a i ry Beef
P i g s D e e r H o r s e s Pou l t r y F e r a l Is the r e dispos al of anim al wastes ? (Pleas e specify ) __________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________

__________________________________________________________
P a r t C: W a te r us es Indicate the presence of the follo wi ng for the recreati onal s ite.

M a r i n a B o a t ram p Perm anent b o a t m oori ngs Jet ty /w harf

Add iti ona l influenci n g fact ors Si

ze of b a t h i n g /

r ecreat i o nal are a : Area

______________________ m 2
Len g th

____________________ m M ean wi dth

________________ m Is th e site subject to seaso n a l/ h o lid ay l o ad ing ? Yes / No
Di rect i o n of p r evai l i ng wi nds

_______________________________________________________________ Shoreline confi g uration/ge om orphol ogy/eros i on gullies:
_________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________ To ta l ra i n fa ll :
Tot a l an nu al :

______________ m m Lo cation o f r a i n f a ll m o n ito r i ng station : ___

__ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ ___ Shoreline confi g uration/ge om orphol ogy/eros i on gullies:
_________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H16Pa rt D: M i crob i o l og ica l haza r d s Sew a ge an d a n i m al w a st es Is th e water q u ality in th e recreatio n a l area af fected , or likely to b e affected by : Is it prese n t ? Is it lik ely to
cause an e ffect ? 1 di scharge o f u n t r eat ed h u m a n e ffl ue nt ont o or u

p st ream t o a recreational area 2 st orm w at er o u t l et s wi th pot e n t i a l sewage c o nt am i n at i on /
com b i n ed st or m

w at er out l e t ont o or u

p strea m t o a rec r eat i onal
area 3 ur ban st o r m w at er th at i s pr ot e c t e d f r om sewa ge i n g r ess 4 on -si t e o r othe r p r i v at e se wag e di s posal sy st em s (e.g . se pt i c t a nk
or

pac k a g e pl ant ) 5 com m unal sew a ge di sp osal or p r i m ary or sec o n d ary t r eat m e nt facilities 6 co mm u n a l sewag e d i spo s al with tertiary treat m en t facilities 7 in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral u s e i n i mmed i ate catc h m e n t an d po t e n tial fo r ru n- o ff fr o m untreated an im al effl uent ( e .g. dai ry i ng , p i gg eries, m ilk in g sh ed s etc.) 8 focal p o i n t s of drai nage , as r u n- of f fr om l o w - i n t e nsi ty agric u lture/ u rban/rural catc h ment 9 unrestricted stock access to waterways 1 0 th e in ciden c e an d d e n s ity of bird life 11 wat e r c r aft m oori n g o r use 12 pote n tial fo r ru n- of f fr om fera l anim als (e.g. fo rest or b u s h ). Indirect influe nces
Y e s N o

Is t h e r e a st rea m (i ncl udi n g a pi pe d st ream o r t r i b ut ary ) o r drai n or wetlan d d i sch arg i n g in to or up stream to th e recreation a l area?

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H17If ‘Yes’ please answer Questions 13–18. Is th e water q u ality o f th at strea m , d r ai n o r wetlan d affecte d or likely to be affected by 

### : Is it prese n t ? Is it lik ely to
cause an e ffect ?
13 di scharge o f u n tr eat ed h u m a n e ffl ue nt , p r i m ary or seco n d ary wastewater tre a tm ent plant discharg e, on- site or o t h e r pr iv ate sewa ge dispos al syste m s (e.g. se ptic tank) 14 st orm w at er o u t l et s wi t h pot e n t i a l sewage c o nt am i n at i on /
com b ined st orm w ater outlet 1 5 co mm u n a l sewag e d i spo s al with tertiary treat m en t facilities 1 6 h i gh -i n t en sity ag ricu ltu ral/ru r al activ ities, in cid e n ce andd e n s ity
o f

feral an im al /b ird pop u l ation 17 focal p o i n t s of drai nage , as r u n- of f fr om l o w - i n t e nsi ty agric u lture/ u rban/rural catc h ment 18 pote n tial fo r ru n- of f fr om fera l anim als (e.g. fo rest or b u s h ).
Further c o nsi d

erations Y e s N o Do es rai n fall trig g e r co n t am in atio n ev en ts ? Do es m i cro b i olo g i cal water-qu a lity d a ta ex ceedth e n a ti o n a l gui del i n es (5 5 0 E. co li per 100 m L single sa m p le exceedance) on any occasion ? Is th ere add itio n a l inform atio n im p l yin g risk (su c h as no tifiedilln ess relatedto recreatio n a l water activ ities)?
Note : If t h e answer to any of the above micr obi ological haz ar d questi ons is ticked as pre s ent, t h e answe r as to
w h et her or n o t i t i

s causi n g a n ef f

ect may be obvi o u s ( i .e. di sch a rge of u n t r eat e d h u m a n ef f

l u ent i n to or u p st rea m to a recre a tional area)

. If, however, it is unc l ear that it is c ausi n g an eff ect, a more detail ed inve stigation may b e requ ired to esta b lish th e rela tive impo rtance o f

th e effect.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H18Di r e ct dis c har g e to r ecr e a

tion a l wa t e r Waste w ate r , st orm w ater an i m a l s a n d bi r d s E ffl u e nt w a s t e w at er , co m b ine d se we r di s c h a r ge s ( C S O ); se wer o v erfl ows R e cei v es u n tre a ted/ 1 ° /2 ° tr e a te d d i s c h ar g e to bea ch o r ad ja cen t are a O n -sit e wa ste tr ea tm en t sy st em s CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 1 , 4, 5 Ve ry h i g h

T r

eate d ter t i a ry w a s t e w a t e r d i sch arge to be ach or ad ja cen t are a CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 6 Hi gh

U r ban storm w at e r ; d i rect ru n-o f f from in ten s i v e a g ricu l t u r e u n rest ricte d sto ck a cces s , de n s e b i rd p opu l a tion s CA C r e f

e r

e n ce: 2, 7 , 9, 1 0 Hi gh

U r ban storm w at e r n o t co ntam in at e d by se wag e Lo w i n te ns i t y a g r i c u l t ur e , m a r i na o r bo a t m o o r in g s C A C re fe re n ce : 3 , 8, 1 1 Mod e r a te

R e cei v es u n tre a ted, 1 o or 2 o w a ste w at e r tre a tm ent di scha r ge , on -site w a s t e tr eatm ent system s CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 13 Hi gh Indir ect di sc ha r g e to ad jace nt s h or elin e R i ver /stream dis c ha r g e
Re cei v es t e rti a r y tre a ted disc ha rg e, co m b in ed s e we r di scha r ge s , sewe r ove r fl o

w s, i n te n s ive use i n ag ricu lt u r al/ r ural catc hm ent, si gn ifi c ant fera l bi rd/an i m a l pop ula t ion , unre s tric ted s t o c k acc e ss t o str e am s CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 14 , 15, 16 Mod e r a te

Ru n-of f from l o w-in t e n s it y agr icu l t u ral/ urba n / ru r a l cat c hm en t CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 17 Lo w

B u s h , fo r e s t , et c CA C r e f

e r

e nce : 18 Ve ry l o w

Ve ry l o w N o s i g n ific an t s ourc e Fera l a n im als in cl udi n g t h o s e i n b u sh a nd f o rest are a s C AC r e f

e r

e nce : 12 Lo w

Figure H3: Sanitar y I n spec tion Cate gor y for freshwater sites



### Note H(viii): Microbiological Assessment Category f o r freshw ater recreational
areas The Microbiol ogical Assess ment Category is cal cul a t e d on t h e basi s of fi ve y ears of hi st o r i cal d a ta (at least 10 0 d a ta po in ts). Data co llected du ri n g or i m medi at el y fol l o w i ng rai n fal l , as part
o f

ro u tin e samp lin g, sho u l d be in clud ed in th e cal cul a t i on of th e M A C

. The pu r pose o f t

h e M A C i s t o gi v e an i ndi cat i o n of ge neral wat e r q u a lity ov er an ex tend ed p e ri o d , to allo w for
v a riation s i n cl i m at ic co nd ition s

. Th e M A C is
u s edin conj unctio n with t h e San itary In sp ectio n Categ o ry (SIC) to d e term in e th e Su itab ility fo r Recreation Gra d e, an d to confirm th at th e selected SIC is accurate , base d on hist orical water-qu ality resu lts.
No te: Fo llo w-up sa mp les fro m an a l ert o r act i o n m o de re spo n se sh o u l d not be i n cl u d e d

i n th e da ta used to g e n e ra te an MAC. If using th e
so

ftwa r e p r o v id ed b y

th e Ministry fo r th e En vironmen t to g e n e ra te g rad es, fo llo w-up will need to be removed from t h e dat aset prior to impo rting

. No te: S ee S ectio n E.3 f o r MAC d e fin itio ns f o r f

r eshw at er.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H19

### Note H(ix): Suitability for recreation grade for f reshw ater recreational areas
Expl a n at i o n of grades Beaches ar e graded by c o nsidering
m i crobi ol ogi ca l m oni t o ri ng re sul t s f r om p r ev iou s years in co m b in ation with t h e factors in the catc h m e nt that m a y contribute fa ecal contam ination to the beac h. It is a ris k

associated grading of th e b each , m ean in g th at it provides an i n dication of what the likely
co nd itio n of t h e b each will b e on an y d a y. Th e f o llow i ng g e n e r a l exp l an ation pr ov id es a descri ption of each of the bea c h gra d es. Very go od Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ve ry go od water-qu ality (see Tab l e E2 fo r d e tails). This indicates the r e may be som e indi rect run-off fro m lo w in tensity ag ricu ltural/u rb an /ru r al/bu s h catchm e nts, but there ar e likel y to be no significant s o urces of faecal c ontam ination.
Recomme ndat ion: Con s id ered sa tisfa cto r y fo r
sw i mmi n g at al l t i m es, an d t h e r ef ore may n o t require monitoring on a re gular basis.

Good Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y g ood water-quality (see Tab l e E2 fo r d e tails). Onocca si o n s ( s uc h as a f t e r hi gh rai n fal l ) t h e r e may be an i n creased risk of c ontam ination from run-off. Suc h sites recei ve run-off from one or m o re of t h e fol l owi n g so urce s an d m a y cont a i n anim a l or human faecal m a ter i al:

• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, sewer ov erflows, i n ten s i v e ag ricu ltu ral/ru r al cat chm e nt s, si gni fi cant f

e ral bi r d/ a ni m a l p opu latio n s ri v e r di sc ha rg es i m pact ed by ; r u

n - o f f f

r om l o w in

ten s ity agricu ltu ral/urb an /rural catch m e n t di rect di scharg es f r om st orm w at er n o t cont am i n at ed b y sewa ge, b o at m oori n gs or mar i n a s di rect di scharg es f r om l o w-i n t e nsi ty agric u lture

. Recomme ndat ion: Sa tisfa ctory fo r swi mmi ng most of t h e time. Exce ptions may include f

o l l o w i ng rai n f

a l l

. Suc h be ac hes are m oni t o red regu la rly throughou t th e summ er sea s o n and

wa rn i n g sign s will b e erected if wa ter qu a lity det e ri orat es.

Fa ir Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y fair water-qu al ity (see Tab l e E2 for d e tails). Howe ver, e v ents suc h as hi gh rainfall i n creas e th e ri s k of co nt am i n at i on l e ve l s fr om run - of f

. Suc h si t e s rece i v e r u n- of f fr o m one o r m o re of the following s o urces an d m a y contain anim al or hum a n faec al m a terial: river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, sewer ov erflows, i n ten s i v e ag ricu ltu ral/ru r al cat chm e nt s, si gni fi cant f

e ral bi r d/ a ni m a l p opu latio n s ri v e r di sc ha rg es i m pact ed by ; r u

n - o f f f

r om l o w in

ten s ity agricu ltu ral/urb an /rural catch m e n t di rect di scharg es f r om st orm w at er n o t cont am i n at ed b y sewa ge, b o at m oori n gs or mar i n a s di rect di scharg es f r om l o w-i n t e nsi ty agric u lture

. Recomme ndat ion: Gen e ra lly sa tisfa ctory for swim m i ng , thou gh t h ere a r e m a n y po ten tia l

sou r ces of f

a ec al m a t e ri al

. C aut i o n sh o u l d be ta ken du ring perio d s o

f

h i gh ra in f

a ll, and

sw i mmi n g av oi ded i f

w a t e r i s di scoloure d

. S i t e s
are monitore d weekly and w a rning si gns erected if wa ter qu a lity d e terio r a t es.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H20Poor Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ge ne ral l y p oor water-qu ality (see Tab l e E2 for d e tails). These si t e s rec e i v e r u n- of f fr om one or m o re o f the following s o urces an d m a y contain anim al or hum a n faec al m a terial:

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• •

•

tertiary treated wastewater

u r

b an storm w ater, in ten s iv e ag ricu ltu re, unrestricted stock access , dens e bird p opu latio n s lo w-in ten s ity ag ricu ltu re, m a rin a s o r bo at
m oori ngs , ur ban st orm w at er n o t contam inated by sewa ge ri ver di sc har g e s co nt ai ni n g u n t reat ed/ prim ary/secondary treat e dwastewater or on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s river disc harge s im pacted by tertiary treated wastewater, c o m b ined sewe r ove rfl ows, in ten s iv e agricu ltu ral/ru r al catch m en ts, feral bi r d/ a ni m a l popul at i o ns.
Recomme ndat ion: Ge nera l l y n o t ok ay f o r
sw i mmi n g , as i ndi c a t e d by hi s t ori c al res u l t s

. Sw i mmi n g s h o u l d

be av oi de d, p a rt i c ularl y b y the very y o ung, the very ol d and those with

co mp ro mised i m mun ity. Perman en t wa rn ing signs may be e r ected at these sites, although councils may monitor these s ites weekly and post t e m porary w a r n i n gs.
Very po or Water-qu ality tests andassessmen t o f po ten t i a l contam ination sources indicate beac hes within th i s cat eg ory ar e c onsi d ere dt o have ve ry po or water-qu ality (see Tab l e E2 fo r d e tails). These sites receive run-off from one or m o re of the fol l o wi n g s o ur ces an d m a y cont ai n an i m al or hum an faecal material:
unt reated/primary/secondary treated wastewater on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s tertiary treated wastewater u r b an storm w ater, in ten s iv e ag ricu ltu re, unrestricted stock access , dens e bird p opu latio n s ri ver di sc har g e s co nt ai ni n g u n treat ed/ prim ary/secondary treat e dwastewater or on-site wa ste treatm e nt system s.
Recomme ndat ion: Avoi d sw i mmi ng , as t h er e
are di rect di sc har ges of f

a ec al m a t e ri al

. Perma n e n t si

gn ag e will b e erected a t t

h e b e a c h stat i n g t

h at sw i mmi ng i

s not r ecom m e nde d.



### Note H(x): Application of grades and single samples
The ri sk of beco m i ng si ck from swimming at a beach is inferred from the asso cia t ed grade. Beaches graded Very G ood alm o st always pass th e Microbi ol o g i c al Water Qual it y Gui d eli n es , and there are fe w sources of fa eca l conta m in a tion in

th e ca tch m e n t. Co n s eq u e n t ly, th e ri sk o f beco ming sick is low. Beache s graded Very Poor are with in ca tc h m en ts w ith s i g n i fican t so u r ces o f faeca l conta m i n ation, and the y rare ly pas s th e guidelines. Th e risk of beco ming sick a t thes e beaches is high and swimming is not
reco mmended. Unless there is a change in the catch m e n t char acteris tics of beaches graded Very Poor, m onit o ring i s not just i f ied.
For the rem a ining grades of beaches (Good, Fair, Poo r ), water qu ality d e terio r ates andt h e risk of illn ess fro m swimmin g in creases d o wn th e g r a d i e nt fr om Goo dt o P o or . T h e c o ndi t i ons affecting water qu ality v a ry (e.g . Goo d b eaches
u s ually p a ss t h e gu id elin es, bu t o ccasion s such as h i g h rainfall in crease th e ri sk o f cont am i n at i on fr om run - o f f )

. Fo r th ese b each e s it is recomm ended that week ly m o n itoring b e carried out duri ng the b a th ing season. Th e pu b lic will b e in fo rm ed whe n s w i m m i ng i s n o t rec o m m e nded ( w hena sam p le taken from the beac h exceeds the actionlev e l sing le-sam p l e criteria o f th e Micro b i o l og ica l Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es ).

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H21

### Note H(xi): Interim grading
Ani n t e ri m gra d e i s pr o v i s i o n a l , an d depe n d e nt
o nannu al rev i ew as add itio nal in fo rm atio n b eco m e s av ailab l e un til fiv e years o f d a ta is
o b t ain e d

. An in terim g r ad e is m a in ly fo r m a nagem e nt p u r p oses, al t h o u g h i t m a y be
co mm u n i catedto th e pu b lic if it is clearly defi ned as i n t e ri m onl y
. Ani n t e ri m gra d e can be deri v e d usi n g l e ss th an the rec o mm en ded fi ve years ’ data whe r e at l east 20 dat ap o i n t s ove r t h e peri o d o f great est recreation a l u s e are av ailab l e. Th is p e riod will
no rm al ly be th e sum m er bath i ng seaso n , b u t may v a ry with th e typ e s o f recreatio n a l activ i ty m o st co mm on in the ar ea. C i rcum st ances un de r whi c h an i n t e ri m grade
m i ght be a p pl i e d i n cl ude: wh ere t h e d a ta av ailab l e is in co m p lete, eith er with resp ect to t h e M A C, or th e SIC,
or

b o t h •

• whe r e t h ere is reason t o believe that t h e exi s t i n g g r adi n g no l o nge r acc or ds wi t h change d circ um s t ances, but t h e data re quire d for co m p letin g th e g r ad ing is in sufficien t.



### Note H(xii): Modifying beach gr ades Modifying a beach’s SFR G i s justified whe r e occasional an d predictable c o ntamination e v ents are id en tified, an d in terv en tion s can b e dem onst r at ed t o be e ffect i v e i n di sco u ra gi n g recreation a l u s e. Sites with a m o d i fiedSFR G sh ou l d b e lab e l l ed , an d th eir co nd itio n andt h e effectiv en ess of m a n a g e m e n t in terv en tion s assessed annua lly.
M odi fy i n g an SFR G i s part i c ul arl y rel e vant t o m i d-ran g e bea c hes (G o o d , Fa i r an d Po or ) an d whe r e t h ere is disagr eem ent between t h e SIC and MAC (i.e. a ‘Follow Up’). T h e process for
m odi fy i ng a be ach gra d e i s a s fol l o ws. i. Determ in e wh eth e r con t amin atio n ev en ts are occasional and pre d ictable (i.e. trigge red by aneve n t s u ch as heavy rain fall). ii. Im ple m ent and evalua te the e f fectivenes s of

m a nagem e n t i n t e rve n t i o ns t o di sc o u ra ge
r ecr eation a l u s e du r i n g kno wn h i gh -r isk peri ods

. iii. Reassess th e SIC, rem o v i n g th e sou r ce of pre d i c t abl e c o n t am i n at i on eve n t s ( p ro vi de d in terv en tion s are effectiv e). iv. Reassess the MAC (whe re t h ere is suf f i c i e nt dat a ) , excl udi ng res u l t s cause d b y th e t r igg e r ev en t.

v. M odi fy t h e bea c h gra d e acc o r di n g t o t h e revi se d S I C an d M A C

.
Data requirements for modify ing a n SFRG
To reassess th e MAC, rainfall-relatedd a ta sho u l d be i d e n t i fi ed an d rem oved f

r om t h e d a taset. Th is req u i res all rai n fall d a ta to b e mark ed fo r easy id en tificatio n in sub s equ e n t years. If rem oving rainfall da ta decreas es the size o f th e d a taset b e low t h e 10 0 requ ired to gene rat e a M A C , i t can not be m odi fi ed. Sam p l i ng i n t h e su bse que nt s easo n m a y be
su fficien t to g e n e rate t h e required nu m b er of
sam p les to reas sess the MAC. If not, c o uncil s sh ou l d d e sign a pr og r a mm e t o m eet th is requ irem en t, or stick with m o d i fying th e SFRG base d on t h e re vi sed SIC cat ego ry onl y
. O n ce su fficien t d a ta h a s b e en co llectedth e M A C can be reassesse d an d t h e SFR G m odi fi ed accordingly.
Th e fo llowing ex am p l e illu strates ho w to
m odi fy a gra d e

.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H22

### Box 5 Exam p l e of m o dif y i n g a beach gra d e

In itial assessmen t of t h e si t e resu lted i n a SIC of Hi gh (p ri ma r y i m p a c t= ‘ s to r m w a te r o u t l e ts w i th p o t e n t i a l
sew a ge con t am in ation’) and a M A C o f C (95 p e rcen tile = 315), g i v i ng an SFR G of Poo r

. The st orm w at er ove rfl ows are cause d by hea v y rai n fal l , and are t h ere f ore predictable e v e n ts. Si gns we re in trodu ced to warn ag ain s t swimmin g fo r up two d a ys fo ll o w i n g rai n fall. Site m o n ito ring o v e r t h e fo llowing
season foun d pu b lic warn ing s to b e effectiv e in d e terri n g u s e of th e site fo r up to two d a ys fo llo wi n g rainfall.
A s a r e su lt, s e w a ge imp a c t ed s t or mw a t er w a s rep l a ced as the pr ima r y imp a c t on th e site w i th s t or mw a t er pro t ected fro m sewag e i ngr ess. Th i s im prov ed t h e SI C fro m Hi gh to Moderate and gave a m o d i f i ed SFR G of Fa ir (but unsui t a b l e for t w o days aft e r heavy ra i n fa ll )

. Wat e r-quality sam p li ng con f i r m e d t h atafter t w o days m i cr ob i o l o g i cal levels ret u rn ed t o pre-rai n fall l e vels. A f te rrem o vi n g rai n fall dat a , t h e r e we re i n s u f f icie nt re s u lt s t o ge nerate a M A C

. A sam p li ng st rat e gy wa s d e si gn ed for t h e fo ll ow i ng season t o co llect suff ici e n t sam p les t o m eet th e 100 d a ta po i n t s need ed. Rean aly s is of wat e r-quality d a t a usi ng wat e r qu ality t o wh ich p e op l e were expo sed rev e aled a 95 percen tile of 126 , im p r oving t h e M A C fro m C to B

. Th e mo d i f i ed gr ade for th e site b eco me s Good (but unsuitable for t w o day s af ter heavy ra i n fa ll) , giv e n th e m o d i f i cati on of bo t h t h e SIC and M A C

. Not e : Rem e d i ation of st or m w at er overf l o w s wou l d r e sult i n an SFR G of Good , based on t h e ou t c om e of t h e
m odi fi e d gr a d e.

D emo nst r at ing eff e ct ive n e s s of manag eme nt in ter v en ti o n s M a nagem e nt i n t e r v ent i o ns m a y ran g e fr om war n i n g si gn s t o pu bl i c n o t i c e s i n ne wspa pe r s

. They s h o u l d ai m t o re duce be ach usa g e un de r specific c o nditions that ar e known t o ca use co n t am in atio n , e.g. after h e avy rain fall. It is critical that the effectiveness of these i n t e rve n t i o ns b e dem onst r at e d be fo re a beac h ’ s SFR G canbe m odi fi ed. Thi s re qui re s m a nagem e nt i n t e rve n t i ons t o be i npl ace f o r at least one bat h ing seas on be fore a site’s gra d e can be m odi fi e d

. The effecti v eness of m a nagement i n t e rventi ons can be asses s ed by measuring the decrease in beach use follo wing their imp l e m enta tion. An 80% reduct i on i n recreat i onal use i s requi red for
m a nagem e n t i n t e rventi ons t o be consi d ered effecti v e. Head count s are avail a bl e fro m su rf cl ubs t o provi de baseli ne i n form ati on. If no s u rf cl ub i s presen t , counci l s or heal t h

agenci es sh oul d collect the i r own information on beach usage.
Befo re m odifie d gra d es ar e finalised, the
m oni t o ri ng aut h o r i t y sh oul d c ons ul t ot her councils an d the Medical Offi cer of Health i n th eir area to g a in agr eem ent on the outcom e of t h e re gra d i n g. Gi ve n t h ei r pu bl i c heal t h p r o t ectio n ro le, th e Med i cal Officer of Health in part i c ul ar s h o u l d co nc ur th at : there is suffici ent doc u m e ntation t o s u pport th e orig i n al Suitab ility fo r Recreatio n Grade •

•

• there is e v idence that m a nage ment interve n tions have been effect ive the m odified grade is a ppr op riate f o r th e site.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H23What informat i o n to repo rt? Whe r e si t e gra d es ha ve beenm odi fi ed, re gi onal
an d lo cal cou n cils will repo rt th e m o d i fied grad e t o th e p ubl i c

. The m odi fi e dgra d e pr o v i d es in fo rm atio n on th e co nd ition o f th e site, in clu d i n g wh en it is n o t su itab l e fo r recreatio n a l use (i .e. G o o d– e x cept f

o r t w o day s f o l l o wi ng rain fall). Wh il e th e ‘actu a l’ water qu ality at th e si t e hasn ’t bee n i m pro v ed by rem ovi ng th e sou r ce o f c ont a m i n at i on, t h e ri sk has bee n m i ti gat e d th ro u g h ef fect i v e m a nagem e nt in terv en tion s

. Th e Min i stry fo r th e Env i ro nmen t is in terest ed in repo rting t h e orig in al SFR Gs, as th ese reflect th e actu a l water q u a lity and po ten tial fo r faecal
co n t am in atio n

. Repo rting t h e orig in al SFRG will en ab le th e Min i stry to p i ck up i m p r ov em en ts to th e ov erall co nd itio n of beache s as a re sult of infra structural or landuse changes over time. 

### Note H(xiii): Percentile guideline values for seaw ater (WHO 20 01) and freshwater

Se aw ate r For m a rine wat e rs, only faecal strept ococci (enteroc occi) s h owe d a dose –response relatio n s h i p fo r bo th g a stro in t e stin al illn ess (Kay et al 1994) and Ac ute Febrile Res p irat ory In fection( A FR I) (Fleishe r, Kay , Salm on et al 1 996 ). A recen t rean alysis of th is d a ta (Kay et

al 20 0 1 ) usi n g a ran g e of c ont em porary statistical to o l s h a s con f i r m e dth at th e relatio n s h i p s orig in ally repo rt edare rob u st to altern ativ e statistical ap p r o a ches.
Th e gu id elin e v a lu es fo r m i cr o b i o l og ical quality gi ve n i nTa bl e H1 are de ri ve d fr om t h e key st

udi es desc ri b e d i nth e p r evi ous p a ra gra p h.
The c u t

- of f or bo u ndi ng val u es ( 4 0 , 20 0, 5 0 0 )
are e x presse d i n term s of the 95t h p e rcen tile of
num bers o f fae cal st rept o c occ i per 1 0 0 m L , and rep r ese n t rea d i l y un derst o o dl e vel s of ri sk , base d onth e e x p o s u re co n d i t i ons o f t h e key st

udi es.
Fo r th e pu rpo s es of water-quality m o n ito ring , the term s ‘faec al streptoc occi’, ‘i ntestinal enterococci ’ an d ‘enteroc occi’ are c o nside r ed to be sy no ny m ous (Fi gue ras et a l 20 0 0 )

. E x po s u re to recreation a l waters with t h ese m easu r ed in d i cators refers to bo d y con t act th at is lik ely to i n v o l v e hea di m m e rsi on, s u c h as swi m m i ng , surfing, white-water cano ei n g , sc uba di vi n g and di n ghy -b oat sa i l i ng.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H24Table H1: Guideline value s for microbi ologic al quality of m a rine recre ati o nal water s 95th percentile value of

enterococci/100 mL

(rounded values) Basis of derivation Estimated risk

≤ 40 This value is belo w the NOA EL in most epidemiological studies. < 1% G I illness risk, < 0. 3% A F R I risk. This relates to an excess illness of l e ss than one incidence in every 100 ex posures. T h e AFRI burden would be n e gligible.
41–200 The 200/100 mL value is abo v e the threshold of illness transmission reported in most epidemiological studies that have attempted to define a NOA EL or LO AEL for G I illness and A F R I

. 1–5% GI illness r i sk, 0

. 3–< 1.9% AFRI illness risk. The upper 95th percen tile value of 20 0 r e lates to an avera g e probability of one case of gastroent e ritis in 20 expos ures. The A F R I illness rate at this w a ter quality w ould be 19 per 1000 e xposures, or approximately 1 in 50 ex posures

. 201–500 This level represe n ts a substantial elevation in the probability of all adverse health ou tcomes for which dose–response da ta is available. 5–10% GI illness risk, 1.9–3

. 9 % AFRI illness risk. This range of 95th percentiles represents a probability of 1 in 10 to 1 in 20 of gastroenteritis for a single ex posure. Exposure s in this category also su g g est a risk of AF RI in the range of 19–39 per 1000 exp o sures, or a range of a pproximately 1 in 50 to 1 in 25 ex posures

. > 500 Above this level t h ere may be a significant risk of high levels of mi nor illness transmis si on. > 10% G I illness risk, > 3. 9% A F RI illness risk. There is a greater than 10% chance of illness per single exposure. The A F R I illness rate at the 95th percentile point of 500 enterococci per 1 00 mL would b e 39 per 1000 exp o s ures, or approximately 1 i n 25 exposures

. Sour ce: Adapted fr o m W HO 2001. Notes: 1 AFRI = acute f e bri l e respirator y il lness; GI = gastrointes tinal; LOA EL = l o west observed-adverse-ef f ect level; NOAE L = no-obs ervedadverse-ef f ect level. 2 T h e ‘ e xposur e’ in the keystudies was a m i nim u m of 10 m i nutes ’ bathing involvi ng thr ee im m e r s ions

. I t is envisaged that this is equivalent to m a ny im m e r s ion activities of sim i lar dur ation, but it m a yunder e stim ate r i sk for longer per i ods of water contact or for activities involvin g higher risks of water ingestion (see also note 7). 3 The ‘esti m ated ris k ’ refers to the ex cess risk of illness (relative to a group of no n-bathers) a m ong a gr oup o f bathers who h ave been exposed to faecall yconta m inat ed rec r eational wate r under conditions si m i lar to those in the keystudies. 4 T h e functional for m used in the dose–r e sponse cur v e assu m e s no excess illness outside the r a nge of the data ( i

. e

. at concentr ations above 158 faecal streptococci/100 m L ). Th us, the esti m a tes of illness rate reporte d above are likely t o be underesti m ate s of the act ual disease incidence attr ibutable to r ecreational-water exposur e. 5 T h is table would pr oduce pr otection of ‘ h ealthyadult bather s’ e xposed to m a r i ne water s in te m p er ate north E u ropean water s

. 6 I t does not r e late to childr e n, the elder l yo r i m m unoco m pr o m is ed people, who would have lo wer i m m unityand m i ght r e quir e a gr ea t e r degr ee of pr otection. T h ere is no availabl e data with whi c h to quantify this, and no correction f actors are ther ef ore applied. 7 Epide m iological data on freshwaters or e xposures other than bathing (e.g. high-expo sure acti v ities such as surfing, dinghy -bo at sailing or white-wa t er canoeing) are cur r entl y inad equate to pre s ent a parallel anal ysis for defined r e fer e nce r i sks. T hus , a single
m i cr obiological value is pr oposed, at this time , f o r all re creational uses of water, because ins u ff icient evidence ex ists at present to do other w ise. However , it is r e co m m en ded th at the sever i tyand fr equencyof exposur e en count er ed byspecial inter e st gr oups ( s uch as body surfers, board riders, windsurfers , sub-aqua divers, canoeists and ding hysailors) be take n into account. 8 W h er e disinfectionis used to r e duce the densityof indicator bacter ia in effluents and discha rges, the presu m ed r e lationship between faecal streptococci (as indicators of faecal conta m ination) and pathogen pr esence m a ybe alte red. This alteration is, at prese nt, poor ly understoo d . In wa ter receiving such effluent s and disch a rges, f aecal st rept ococci counts m a y not provide an accurate esti m a te of the r i sk of suffering fro m m i ld gastrointestinal sy m p to m s or A F RI. 9 Risk attr ibutable to exposur e to r ecr eational water is calcula ted after the m e thod given byW y er et al ( 1999) , in which a log 10 stand a r d deviation of 0.8 1 0 3 was assu m e d. If th e true standard d e viation for a beach were l e ss than 0.8103, then reliance on faecal str eptoc o cci would tend to over e stim ate the health r i sk for people exposed above the th r e shold level, and vice ver s a. 10 Note that the value s presented in this table do not take account of health o u tco m es other than gastroenteritis and AFRI. W h er e other outco m e s ar e of public health concer n, then the r i sks should be assessed and appr opr iate actio n taken. 11 Guideline values should be applied t o water used r ecr eationally and at the tim e s of r ecr eationa l use. T h is i m plies car e in the design of
m onitor i ng pr ogr am m e s to ensur e th at r e pr esen tative sam p les are obtained. I t also i m pl ies that data fr o m per i ods of high r i sk ma yb e ignored if effective m easur es we re in place to discourage rec r eational exposure.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H25Fre s hw ater Th e m a rin e water gu id elin e valu es h a v e b e en deri ved f

r om epi d em i o l ogi cal st u d i e s, but t

h i s type o f st

u d y i s sel d om carri ed out f o r f r e sh water an d h a s no t b een co ndu cted fo r New Zealand. Instead values are based on a q u an titativ e risk assessm e n t fo r C a mpylob ac t e r in fection u s ing th e resu lts ob tain ed i n a recen t n a tio nwid e stud y (McBri d e , Till, Ryan et al 2 002 ). Cam p ylo b acter i o sis a ccou n ts fo r m o re th an h a lf of New Zealan d’s bu rd en o f no tifiab l e disease, an d for this reas on it was selected as the
en d po in t fo r t

h is an alysis. Also in th at study a
reasona b le correlation wa s found bet w een conce n tr at i o ns of C a mpylob ac t e r an d of E. c o li

.

Table H2: Guideline value s for microbi ological quality of fre s hwater r ecreati onal waters
95th percentile value

of E. coli /100 m L (rounded values) Basis of derivation Estimated risk of Campylobacter inf ection

≤ 130 This value is the NCRL for Campylobacter infection. < 0.1% oc currenc e. This relates to les s than one case of Ca mpyloba cter infection in every 1000 exp o sures.
131–260 The 260/100 mL value is abo v e the threshold of Campylobacter infection (above the NCRL ). 0.1–1% occurren ce. The upper 95th p e rcentile value of 260 relates to an average probability of one case of Campylobacter infection in every 100 ex posures.
261–550 This level represe n ts a substantial elevation in the probability of Campylobacter in fection compared to the Ne w Zealand background rate. 1–5% oc currence. This range of 95th percentiles repr esents a probability of 1 in 100 to 5 in 100 of Ca mpyloba cter infection.

> 550 Above this level t h ere may be a significant risk of high levels of Campylobacter infection. > 5% occurrence

. The upper 95th p e rcentile value of 550 represents a greater than 1 in 20 chan ce of Ca mpyloba cter infection.
Notes: 1 NCRL = no-c a lculated-risk level. Th is is based on the 55th percentile of E. coli distributions because the calcul a ted co mm unit y Campylobacter risk at a given rec r eat ional site starts to rise above zer o at t h is percentile. (Se e the all-data -for-a ll-catch m e nts case T ables A3. 3

. 2 and A3. 7

. 3 in the Fr es hwater M i cr obiologyResearch Pr ogram m e Report ( F MRPR) , P a thogen Occurrence and Human Health Risk Assessment Analysis (M cBr i de et al 2002)

. ) 2 T h e r outes of infection include both i nge stion and in halation fr o m contact r ecr eati on with m o de (m ost likelyvalue) for dur at ion = half hour, and volu m e i ngested/inhaled =5 0 m L (Mont e Ca rl o m odelling of health risk, FMR P R). This m a y underesti m ate risk for longer periods of water c ontact or for activities involving hi gh er risk of wate r ingestion (e.g. higher exposure activities such as di nghy

- boat sailing or white- w ater canoeing)

. I t is r eco m m ended that the se ver i tyand fr equency of expos ur e encounter ed by special inter e s t groups be taken into account. 3 The “ e sti m ated ris k ” refers to the co m m u n ity risk at a given recreational site ( 1000 people at the sa m e beach e ach day ) of Campylobacter in fection (Table A3.7.3 in the FMRPR ) fro m exposure to faecally conta m inat ed recreational wat e r si m ilar to the 25 sites in the Freshwate r Microbiological Research P r ogra m me. 4 T h ese r i sks does not r e late to childr e n, the elder l yor i m m unoc o m pr o m ised people, who would have lower i m munityand m i ght r e quir e a gr eater degr ee of pr otection. T h er e is no available data with which to quantify th is, and no correction f actors ar e theref ore applied. 5 W h er e disinfectionis used to r e duce the densityof indicator bacter ia in effluents or dischar g es, the pr esu m ed r e lationship between E. coli (as indicato r s of faecal conta m ination) and patho g en presence m a y be altered. This al teration is, at prese n t, poorlyunderstoo d. In waters rec e iv in g su ch effluents an d dischar g es, E. c o l i m a y not provide a n accurate esti m a t e of the risk of inf e c tion. 6 Note that the values pr esented in this table do not ta ke account of health o u tco m es other than the r i sk of Campylobacter infection. W h er e other outcom e s ar e of public health concer n, the risks shoul d be assessed and appr opr iate action taken. 7 Guideline values should be also appli e d to water s at the tim e of r e cr eational use. T h is im plies car e in the design of m onito r i ng pr ogr am m e s to ens u r e r e pr esentative sam p les are obtained. I t m a y also im plythat data fr o m per i ods of hig h r i sk m a ybe ignor ed if effective m e asur es ar e in place to dis c our age r ecreational exposur e.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H26

### Note H(xiv): Derivation of alert and action levels for seaw ater and fre s hw ater
The al ert an d a c t i on l e v e l s are m a nagem e nt to o l s, en suring th at risks are kep t b e l o w illn ess r i sk s of ab ou t 2 % p e r 100 0 sw immer s . Th ey
r e pr esen t, r e spectiv ely, 80 % an d 90 % on e-sid e d
up p e r to leran c e li m its, assu min g t h at th e waters are borde r line for c o m p lian ce with prev i o u s g u i d e lin es and a stated v a riab ility ap p lies (m easured as th e st andard de vi at i on o f lo g arith m s ).
See A p

pendix 2: Developi ng the Guideli n es.



### Note H(xv): State of the environment analysis and reporting

Mon i to r i ng an d re port ing th e stat e of th e e n v i ronm en t This section di scusses the Mi nistry’s En vi ro nm ent a l M oni t o ri n g an d R e po rt i n g sy st em , whi c h uses e n vi r onm ent a l pe rf orm a nce indicators t o re port on the stat e of the envi ro nm ent

. The Microbiologic a l W a ter Qua lity Gu id el in es fo r Ma rine an d Fresh w ater Recreational A r eas se rve as the m onitori ng pr ot oc ol f o r th e m a ri ne and f

r e shw a t e r recreat i o n i ndi cat ors. Int h i s doc um ent t h e
m oni t o ri ng ap p r oac h , anal y s i s an d dat a m a nagem e nt p r oce d ures are d e scri be d t o en s u re th e ge ne rat i o n of r o b u st i n f o r

m at i on f o r rep o rt i n g o f th e i ndi cat ors. Good -q uality i n fo rm atio n is i n creasi n g l y im port a nt f o r c e ntral an d l o ca l go ve rnm e nt t o meet public e x pectati ons , be accountable and dem onst r at e pe rf orm a nce. In f o rm at i on i s u s e d to produce State of the En vi r o nm ent rep o rt s; t o revi e w nat i ona l l e gi sl at i on, re gi o n al an d di st ri ct plans; t o asses s com p liance of res o urce co nsen ts; for en v i ron m en tal edu cation , and fo r t h e st rat e gi c an d an nu al pl an n i ng p r oces s. Pa rt ne rs h i p s fo r mon i to r i ng a nd r e po rt ing The M i ni stry f o r

th e E n vi r o n m ent has bee n wo rki n g wit h Regio n al , City and District Councils, Me dical Office rs of Health an d t h e M i ni stry of He al t h t o dev e l o p ap pr oac h es fo r m o n ito rin g and rep o rtin g th e state o f recreational be aches.
Sh oul d t h e M i ni st ry f o r

t h e E nvi ro nm ent want t o u s e th e i n f o r

m at i on ge nerat e d fo r Nat i onal State o f th e Env i ro n m en t rep o rtin g th en th e M i ni st ry w oul d wo rk i npart n e rshi p wi t h Co un cils to agree on th e prin cip l es fo r in fo rm atio n sharing

.
Softw a re Th e Min i stry fo r th e Env i ro nmen t h a s d e v e l o p e d software to assist co un cils with the pr ocess o f gra d i ng beac hes, an d cal cul a t i n g t h e tw o st at e of t h e en vi r onm ent i ndi cat o r s. T h e soft ware (Bath e watch.e x e ) f o llows t h e sam e form at as the guidelines and uses hist orical data
an d inform atio n fro m th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Check list to calculate th e M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory an d t h e San itary In sp ectio n Category. Th e M A C and SIC are u s ed to g e n e rate a Su itab ility fo r Recreation Gra d e an d pe rce n tage c o m p liance with th e gu idelin es for th e site.
The s o ftware an d a user guide can be d o wn lo ad ed fro m th e Min i stry’s web s ite:
www. m f e.gov t.n z
.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H27Data sto r age and a r chi v i n g Most councils store t h eir data as E x cel files. The use r gui de for t h e Bathe w atch software specifies t h e data file form at requirem ents for lo ad ing d a ta i n to th e software. Fo r th e MAC
com pone nt o f t

h e S F R G asses s m e nt , th e dat a col l ect ed f r o m fi el d obse r vat i ons m u st be st ore d in a co mm a-d e li mitedv a lu e (* .csv ) file format. Th e d a ta m u st b e st o r edin th i s sp eci fic file form at o r it will fail to lo ad pro p e rly. It is a si m p le p r o cess to co nv ert files fro m an Ex cel form at into a *.csv form at. The proce dure is d e tailedin th e Bath ewatch u s er g u i d e

. It is expecte dt h at c oun cils wi ll arch iv e th eir
m oni t o ri ng dat ausi n g t h e c o u n ci l ’ s no rm al
com puter back-up system . The c o uncil m a y wish t o con s ider b u rn i n g th e d a ta on to a C D or an othe rwise s ecure file.



### Note H(xvi): Reporting to the public

Pu blic he al th rep o r tin g If e x cee dances of alert and/ or action le vels ar e reco rde dd u ri n g weekly m onitorin g of recreational be aches, the a p propriate res p ons es sho u l d be un de rt ake n , as de sc ri be d i nsect i o n D.4 o f t h e gu idelin es andNo te H(xv ii) o f these not es

.
State of the E n vir o nm ent r e por t i n g Th e t w o beach wat e r quality i n d i cat o rs can be
r epor ted usi n g t h e d a t a

gen e r a t e d b y coun cil s

. For :

• •

the pe rce n tage of m onitored beaches i n eac h beach gra d e th e i n di cat or p r ovi des a m easure of t h e gene r a l state of bathi n g beache s by c o m b ining t h e risk of contam ination from the cat chm e nt with the microbiol ogica l m onitori ng at the beach. It repo rts th e ov erall su itab ility o f b each e s fo r b a th ing

. Beach e s will b e classifiedin t o o n e o f f i v e g r ad es (f ro m v e ry goo d to v e ry po or ). An d fo r: the pe rce n tage of the sea s on beaches or coastal areas are suitab l e f o r

bath in g or sh ellfish g a t h erin g th e ind i cato r will g i v e an ind i catio n o f th e am ount of tim e in a season t h e water quality
was con s id ered su itab l e for b a th in g or sh ellfi s h gath e r i n g. It p r o v i d es a m easure o f th e vari a t i on o f

m i cro b i o l ogical q u a lity o f b a th ing waters with in a b a t h ing season

.
Indicato r f i t wit h the pressure-sta terespo ns e model The M i ni st ry f o r

t h e E n vi r o n m ent has use d t h e press u re-state- r esp o n se (PSR ) m odel f o r devel opi ng e n v i ro nm ent a l per f o r m a nce i ndi cat o r s

– ref e r to N o te G(iii) : Sta t e o f

t

h e Envi ro n m ent R e po rt i n g , page G3

. The i ndicators on which th ese gu id elin es are base d - pe rce n tage of m onitored beache s in e ach beach gra d e, an d pe rce n tage of the sea s on beache s or c o a s tal areas were suitable for contact recreati o n or s h ellfish gathe r ing - are st at e i ndi cat o r s t h at p r ovi de g e neral i n f o rm ati on o nth e pu b lic health risk presen ted b y recreational wa ters. Press u re i ndicators woul d
m easure th e s u rr ou n d i n g l a n d use an d d i sch arg es to water t o assist id en tificatio n of p o t en tial cau ses of ch ang e s in water qu ality. R e spo n se i n di cat ors w oul d i d ent i f y m a nagem e nt o r pol i c y chan g e s (e. g

. infra struct ural im provem ents, land-use
m a nagem e nt p o l i c i e s, nat i o na l envi ro nm ent a l st andard s) t o m a nage i s s u es fo r recreat i o nal waters.



### Note H(xvii): Management responses to exceedances for marine and freshwater
The planne d re sponses to exc eedance s of t h e gui del i n es s h o u l d be c o nsi d e r ed an d doc um ent e d w h enest abl i s hi n g a re gi o n al
m oni t o ri ng p r o t ocol , an d c o m m uni cat ed t o a l l

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H28ag en cies th at will h a v e a ro l e to p l ay (e.g

. reg i o n a l cou n c ils, territo rial l o cal au t h orities and health a g e n cies). Doc u mentation should clearly state who is re s p o n sib l e fo r carry in g out what actions in res p onse to e x ceedanc e s. If t h e resp o n se vari es fr om si t e t o si t e , de pe ndi ng o n th e ov erall grad e, t h is s h ould also be clearly stated.
S

ee S ection B f o r d e ta ils o n w h o mon ito rs and reports.

S i ng le- s am p l e ex ce eda n c e s Th e po in t o f h a v i ng si n g l e-sam p le l i m i t s is to id en tify v a riatio n s in water quality with in th e bathing season that pose an immediate risk to hum an healt h

. There are tw o l e vel s of res p o n s e t o si ngl e sam p le exceedances.

A l ert mode The first is ale rt (o r am ber) m ode , an d is trig g e red wh en a sing le sam p le is greater t h an 14 0 e n t e r o c o cc i per 1 0 0 m L for m a ri ne wat e rs an d 260 E. co li pe r 10 0 m L fo r f r es hwat e r s. In th is situ ation , sa m p lin g sho u l d b e in creased to d a ily to im p r ov e th e inform at io n b a se and id en tify wh et her o r no t th e pro b l em is o ngo in g. A catchm e nt a ssessm ent should be carried out to id en tify all po ssib le sour ces of c ontam ination. Th e m o n itoring au tho r ity shou ldi n fo rm th e Medical Office r of Health and the othe r cou n ci l ( s ) (ei t h e r re gi o n al or l o cal , depe n d i n g onw h o i s d o i n g th e m oni t o ri ng ).

Actio n mo d e The sec o nd l e v e l of res p onse t o a si n g l e -sam pl e exceedan ce is action (or red) m ode. In t h e c a se o f

m a rin e waters th is is trigg e red wh en two consecutive sa m p les are great er than 2 8 0 en tero co cci p e r 100 m L , an d fo r fres h waters when a single sample exce eds 55 0 m L E. c o li p e r 1 0 0 m L . In th is in stan ce th e
m o n ito rin g au t h ority in fo rm s th e Med i cal Officer of Heal th and t h e othe r c o uncil(s) of the p r ob lem

. Sa mp lin g is in creasedto d a ily an d a catchm e nt assessm ent carried out t o ide n tify the
so urce of th e co n t am in atio n

. Th e pu b lic sh ou ld be not i f i e d of th e heal th ri sks usi n g a p pr op ri at e
m e t hods i d e n t i f i e d i n th e re gi onal m oni t o ri n g p l an

. D i scu s sio nb e t w een th e r e g i on al council, territo rial lo cal au thority and Medical Office r of Health s h oul d t a ke place to as certain who is resp o n si bl e fo r fi xi ng th e pr o b l e m

. T h e M i ni st ry f o r

t

h e E n vi r o nm ent a

n d

M i ni st r y o f He al t h

h a ve de vel o p e d si g n t e m p l a t e s i n consu ltati on w i t h coun cil s and h e alt h

ag encies to
u s e in r e spon se to ex ce edan c e ev en ts and a t h i ghr i sk sites. (See App e nd ix 3 fo r th ese sign tem p lates.)

Hi gh -ris k si te s High -risk sites are tho s e sites g r ad edPoo r or Very Poo r , an d will g e n e rally h a v e d i rect di scharge s , s u c h as sewe r o u t f al l s , im pact i ng on th em . Wh ile t h e g u i d e lin es an d no tes p r ov id e d e tails on assessin g th ese sites and reco mm e n d that pe rm anent signs be e r ected to warn the p u b lic of t h e health risks (see Ap p e nd ix 3 for sig ntem p lates) , th ere is n o d i scu ssion on rem e diation work. T h e a g encies res p onsibl e for
m a nagi n g t h e i n f r astr uct u re o r l a n d use affecting water qu ality, andtho s e resp on sib l e for m o n ito ri n g th e sites and pu b lic h ealth pr ot ect i o n , m a y wi sh t o di scu ss an d d o cum e nt th e rem e d i atio n work requ ired , andth e t i m e fram e s, bu dget s , et c, fo r a c hi evi n g t h i s

.
Com m uni c a ti n g he al th ris k s Co mm u

n i catin g h ealth risk is req u i

red after exceeda n ce of t h e action le ve l of the guideline s , as m

o n ito rin g h a s i d en tified in creased lev e ls of faecal material, wh ich mean th e site is u n su itab l e for recreat i o nal use. I n or de

r top rot ect pu bl i c heal t h , lo cal au t h orities are requ ired to no tify th e pu b lic o f th o s e h ealth risks un til th e p r o b l e m h a s b een reme died.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H29When to issue warnin gs The gui del i n es i d enti fy an action l e vel , at which poi nt use of a recreat i onal sit e i s consi d ered unsui t a bl e for cont act recreat i o n. For m a r i ne waters th is is w h en two co n s ecutiv e sa mp les t a

ken are greater t h an 280 ent e rococci per 100 mL , and for freshwat e rs when a si ngl e sam p l e exceeds 550 E. coli p e r 10 0 m L

. W a r n i ngs shou l d be i ssued as soon as possi bl e after the results from the sa mp le are availab l e. If contami n ati o n i s obvi ous and l i k el y to be ongoing, it is n o t necessary to wait for resu l ts from sampl e s before i ssui n g a heal th w a rning

. Oth e r ag en cies in vo lv edi n m o n itoring and rep o rt i n g sh o u l dbe not i f i e d of excee dan ces b e fo r e no tif ying th e pub lic of h ealth r i sk s.

W

h o t o c o nt ac t Th e reg i o n a l mo n itoring p l an will clearly d e fin e lin es of co mmu n i cation andrespo n s i b ilities,
su ch as wh o s e ro le it is to n o t i f y th e pu b lic. Resu lts shou ld b e co mm unicated as soon as pos sible to the agency res p ons i ble for public
n o tification s

. What mes s age s to c o nvey T h e r e a r e s e ver a l me s s a g e s to c o n s id er w h en issu ing warn ing s , o t h e r t h an th at th ere is a health risk. T h ese are:

•

•

•

• •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• th ere is a h e alth risk th e coun cil is in v e stig atin g the cau se of th e p r ob lem (i.e. th e co un cil is on to it) a list o f altern ativ e b each e s t o v i sit in t h e regi on

an an nouncem ent whe n th e pr ob lem h a s been fi xed.

How t o deliver the mess age There are m a ny ways to comm unicate i n f o rm at i on t o th e p u b l i c

. A num ber of fact ors will determ ine the m e thods c h ose n to delive r the
war n i n gs, i n cl udi ng: th e u r gency of th e m e ssage h o w well informedth e co mmu n ity is th e dem o g r ap h i c m a ke-u p of t

h e c o m m uni t y
. The public aw arenes s an d edu catio n section p r ov id es m o re d e tail o nestab l ish i ng th e b e st
m e thods o f del i v eri n g m e ssag e s t o t h e pu bl i c (see Ap pe ndi x 1) , but t

h e m o st wi del y u s ed
m e t hods f o r

he al th warni ngs ar e: si gns
news pa per art i cl es radi o notices i n local shops web s ites 08 0 0 num bers.
Signs
Th e Min i stry fo r th e En vironment and Mini stry of

Heal t h ha ve devel ope d si g nt e m p l a t e s i n co nsu ltatio n wi th reg i on al co un cils, lo cal
au tho r ities an d pu b lic h ealth ag en cies. Th ese are pr ovi ded i nA ppe n d i x 3.

Fact sheets
Fact sh eets h a ve b e en written to h e l p comm unicate inform ation ab ou t th e gu id elines
an d m o n ito r i ng pr og r a mm es . These ge neric fact sheets can be used for m e dia releases, handing out at p ubl i c at m e et i ngs, et c. See Ap pe ndi x 5 fo r fact sheets ondi ffe rent t o pics.

Su mm ar y The m o st im portant m e ssages to get ac ross ar e: the healt h ris k th e coun cil is respo n d i ng qu ick l y to th e event.
It is also im p o r tan t to co nv ey th e unp red i ctab le nat u re of t h i s t ype o f pr o b l e m an d t h e d i fficu lties in i s o l atin g th e cau s e.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H30O n ce th e pr ob l e m h a s b een f i x e d, th e pub lic sh ou l db e n o tified

. Th is will b e ap p aren t from th e r e m o v a l o f sig n s , b u t should b e h i g h l i g h t ed th r o u g h use of th e m e di a, com m uni ty m eet i ngs, and contact wit h user groups, etc.
The public e ducation an d awar enes s programme o u tlin e (App end i x 1) p r o v i d e s m o re in fo rm at io n onen ga gi n g p ubl i c s u pp ort f o r

th e m oni t o ri ng pr o g ram m e.
Manag e m e n t int e rve n t i on s fo r mod i f i ed gr a d e s Man a g e m e n t in terv en tion s will v a ry in typ e according t o the nature of the pre d ictable e v e n t lead in g to t h e m o d i ficatio n an d th e targ et audi e n ce. I n t e rve n t i o ns m a y ran g e fr om perm anent warning si gns on beaches, to publ ic
m eet i ngs (see Ap pe ndi x 1: P ubl i c E d ucat i o n an d Awaren ess Pro g ramm e Ou tlin e). Th e ab ility to d e m o n s trate th e effectiv en ess of in terv en tion s i n d i scou rag i ng th e p u b lic from usi n g t h e si t e d u ri ng pe ri o d s o f hi g h ri s k i s critical. Th is i s wh at will leadto a m o d i fied g r ad e. How t h is is assessed will v a ry, bu t m u st be verifie d by t h e Me dical Officer of Health.
S

ee N o te H(xii) fo r d e ta ils on mo d ifying g rad es.

PA RT II I: E X P L AN AT OR Y N O T E S T O T H E GUIDELI NE S. June 2003 

### H31

# Section I: Appendices

Appendix 1: Public Education and Awareness Programme Outline The nee d t o i n cor p orat e gui d a nce on de vel o pi n g a public e ducation an d aw are n ess programme as part of t h e Micro b i o l og ica l Wa ter Qua lity Gui d elines f o r Marine and Fr eshwater Recreational A r eas was i d en tifiedt h ro ugh feedb a ck fro m co un cils an d health au t h orities. Co mm u n i catin g risk , ch ang i ng attitu d e s and beha vi o u r s t o w a rds m oni t o ri n g pr o g ram m es and water-qu ality issu es, andi n ter-ag en cy com m uni cat i on were am ong th e m a i n dri v e r s fo r devel opi ng t h i s ap pe ndi x. The goal of t h e Guidelin es i s t o pr ot ect h u m a n health. In m a ny cases, the r e i s no ‘quick fi x’ to bacteriol ogical contamination of rec r eational wat e rs, s o one of th e g o al s be com e s ri sk
com m uni cat i on. R e l e vant i n fo rm ati on m u st be
comm unicated in an eff ective, efficient and ti m e ly way to t h e p u b lic, allowing th em to mak e in fo rm edcho i ces abou t wh ether to swim

. Im pl em ent i ng a p ubl i c e du cat i on an d aw are n ess pr o g ram m e wi ll hel p t h e p ubl i c bet t e r
u n d e rstand what th e gu idelines m ean to th em , how t h ey can minimise their chance s of becom i ng si c k as a re sul t of s w i m m i ng, an d what – i f an y th i ng – t h ey can do t o hel p im prove thei r l o cal wate r qual ity.



### Designing and imple m enting yo ur o w n programme Th is ap p e nd ix ai m s to p r ov ide cou n c ils and h ealth ag en cies with a bro a d te m p late for desi g n i n g an d i m pl em ent i ng t h ei r o w np u b l i c education and aware n ess programm e, to hel p ach iev e t h e b r oadaim o f th e gu id elin e s : to ensu re tha t th e p u b lic are i n fo rmed o f th e microb io log i ca l h e a l t h risks in time fo r th em to make in fo rmed d e cisio n s
a bou t wh et h e r o r n o t to en ter th e wa ter.

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I1Local variatio n an d diffe re nce s in t h e learning
m e thods o f th e di f f ere n t st ak e hol der g r o u p s (e.g

. i n fo rm edv e rsu s un informed ) will to some ext e nt det e rm ine t h e be st m e ans of del i v e r i n g a m e ssage o r fo r u m for c o ns ul t a t i on. Ta ki n g t h e pr ocess i n ‘bi t e -si zed c h un ks ’ and p r ovi di n g local context is a good ba sis for local pr o g ram m es.
Fo r ad d ition a l in fo rm atio n on d e si g n i n g , im pl em ent i ng and eval uat i n g an e nvi ro nm ent a l education programme, contac t the education of

fi cer wi th i ny o u r or gani sat i on o r vi si t th e Sust ai na bl e M a nagem e nt F u n d websi t e (ww.sm f.govt .nz) and downl o ad a c opy of Envi ro n m ent a l

Ed uc at i o n : A gui de f o r progra mme pr oviders – how to develop, i m

pl eme n t an d eval u at e st ra t e gi es an d pro g ra mmes
.


### Objectives
Wh ile the o b j e ctiv e of th e Guid elin es ma y b e met th rou g h risk co mm u n i cati o n in resp on se to cont am i n at i on event s , m i ti gat i ng c o nt am i n ati on events re qui res a m o re detailed a p proach. Longe r-term goals to cleanup w h er e po or w a ter q u a lity ex ists an d wh ere th e co mm u n ity 10 d e m a n d s g oodwater qu ality will in ev itab l y req u i r e som e act i on fr om i ndi vi d u al s. I n or d e r to facilitate a ch ang e i n attitud e s and b e h a v i o u rs from the comm unity, they need to be awar e of th eir im p act o nwater qu ality an d wh at th ey can d o to m i n i m i se th ose im p acts.
There f ore, the two obj ecti v es of a public education and aware n ess programm e are: •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

10 F o r the purposes o f any public educat ion and aw areness programme, ‘ the community’ is de fined as people, or groups of people such as bus inesses, councils
, public health agenci e s, iwi, landow ners, etc. to pro t ect hu man h ealth t h ro ug h th e efficient, effective and tim ely
comm unication of the health risks associate d with u s ing recreatio n a l waters to pre v ent, and where neces sary isolate and
rem e dy, bacteriological c o nt am i n at i on o f recreation a l waters.
Oth e r o b j ectives of th is typ e o f programme will b e to : devel o p a base l e vel o f un der s t a ndi n g o f th e issu es with in th e co mm u n ity
g a in pu b lic supp ort for th e m o n ito ri n g pr o g ram m e b u ild confid ence in th e au thority carrying out t

h e m oni t o ri n g accentuate t h e positive areas and use them as a sellin g po in t for th e reg i on b u ild an im ag e of respon sib ility fo r th e council inform beach users of the immediate health risk

m a nage c o m muni t y co nce rn and p u b l i c out rage main tain a respo n s i b le im ag e

en courag e and facilitate co mm u n ity
ow ne rshi p an d part i c i p at i o n.


### What is public educat ion and awareness?
Th e f o llow i ng h i er ar ch y d e f i nes pub lic
aware n ess and education: i. in fo rma tion : p a m phl et s, post e rs, et c. ii. com m uni c a t i o n: pub lic m e e t i n g s , subm issions, c a ll centres, etc. iii. educ at i o n: co n s ul t a t i on, de vel opi ng k nowledg e, awaren ess, attitu des, v a lu es an d sk ills th at co n t ribu te to m a in tain ing
an d im p r o v i n g th e env i ron m e n t (Min istry f o r

th e En v i ronmen t 1 999 ).

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I2The le vel at which c o uncils an d health agencies
en ter i n to a prog ramm e will d e p e nd on th ei r st at ut ory fu nct i ons an d th ei r a g ree d rol e i n i m p l e m en tin g th e g u i d e lin es. It will also depe n d onw h a t l e vel o f part i c i p at i on o r act i o n the comm unity expects. For e x am ple, one
co mm u n ity m a y wish t o b e d i rectly in vo lv ed in a l o cal m oni t o r i ng p r o g ram m e, w h i l e ot hers may b e con t en t to see week ly resu lts pu b lished in the l o cal paper. Wh atev er th e i n ten tion , t h is sh ou ld b e clear fr om th e out set , an d care t a ke n not t o rai s e ex p ectation s beyo ndth is, as i t will in ev itab l y resu lt in co mmu n ity b a ck lash an d m i stru st in th e council or heal th age n cy.



### What is the environm ental issue?
New Zealand has an ex ten s iv e co astlin e and fres h water recreational area , whic h is use dfor a wid e v ariety o f recreati o n a l activ ities. Prim a r ily
usa g e i s hi g h es t du ri n g t h e s u m m e r m onths (Novem ber to March), but there m a y be are a s of the country or user groups t h a t use recreational sites all year rou n d

. Wh ile water qu ality at New Zealand’s recreational beaches and fres h wa ter sites is go odm o st o f t

h e tim e, th ere are occasions whe n water m a y becom e contam inated with bacteria or viruses that c ause resp i r ato ry or g a stro in testin al illn esses, o r skin in fection s

. Su scep tib ility to illn ess is i n creased i n th ose w h o h a ve a c o m p ro m i sed im m une syste m , the ve ry young and t h e elderly, an d i n sev e re cases m a y resu lt in ho sp italisatio n

. At th e l o cal/reg ion a l lev e l specific envi ro nm ent a l i ssues m a y var y . C o ns ul t a t i on with lo cal co mm u n ities will h e lp to i d en tify these iss u es. 

### Who are the stakeholders?
It

i s i m port a nt whe n desi gni n g an e ducat i o n strateg y to i d en tify th e k e y st ak eho l d e rs and how t h ey use t h e beach in question. This will vary ac ro ss th e co unt ry an d w i th i n eac h re gi on or

di st ri ct , an d m a y depen d o nt h e t ype o f recreation a l site. Th ere will also b e v a riab ili ty
ove r t i m e wi t h i n eac h user g r o up; f o r e x am pl e, there m a y be walkers wh o use the beach e v ery d a y thr oug hou t th e year, an d th o s e th at on ly
v i sit two or three ti m e s a seaso n

. Th e m a in po in t is th at b a seline lev e ls o f
aware n ess bet w een and withi n sta k eholde r g r oup s will v ary co nsid erab ly, as will th e way in wh ich th ey wan t/n eed to b e in vo lv edi n the p r og ramm e. It is im p o r tan t to reco gn ise th is whe n desi gni ng a programm e and to ensure t h e programm e ca n be delivere d at a variety of lev e ls to su it the n e ed s o f tho s e in vo lv ed

. Th e fo llowing is a list o f po ten tial stak eho l ders, di vi de d i n t o th ose wi th i nm oni t o ri ng age n ci es an d tho s e with i n th e wi d e r commu n ity.

W i t h in cou n cil Council staff
Co un cil staff will in ev itab l y h a v e con t act with th e pub lic, p a rt icu l arly after a p o llu tion ev en t whe n si gns ar e posted advising a g ainst swimmin g

. Fro n tlin e staff in p a rticu l ar sh ould be t r ai ned ap p r op ri at el y t o de al wi th po ssi bl e irate m e m b ers of the public, an d be inform ed whe n t h ey m i g h t expect s u c h calls. Field sta ff may also com e into c o nt act with m e m b ers of the pu bl i c w h o ar e an gry wi t h t h e co unci l fo r closing a beac h. It is vital these staff are p r ep a r edfo r s u c h en c oun ters, an d th at the in fo rm atio n they g i v e t h e pu blic is co n s istent wi t h what othe r st af f ar e c o m m uni cat i ng.

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I3Co uncillo rs and p o t entia l co uncillo rs It is im p o r tan t th at cou n c illors and po ten tial
co un cillo rs are aware o f t

h e issu es surro und i n g beach wate r quality as they ha ve a great deal of influe nce on what prio rity programm es are give n. T h ey are also di rectly affected by ba d p r ess an d will n eed to b e prepared shou lda p o llu tion ev en t resu lt in m e d i a cov e rag e

.
Outside the council

Beach users
Thi s gr o up i n cl ude s a vari et y of use r s t h at wi l l
v a ry l o cally. It is im p o r tan t to id en tify all u s er gr o ups an d h o w best t o i n vol ve t h em i n th e programm e, or at least how to comm unicate i n f o rm at i on. S o m e pot ent i a l user g r ou ps ar e :

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• local clubs (e.g. surf lif e- sav i ng , Lion s, wat e rs ki , sea s c out s , wal k er s, kay a ke rs )
nat i onal an d i n t e rnat i o nal g r o ups (e .g

. triath letes, bo aties) schools
pare nt net w or k s iwi Paci fi c pe o p l e s ’ gr ou ps ot he r c o m m unit y gr ou ps rat e pay e rs (i n c l udi n g c o m m uni t y boar d s)

. Th ese group s may b e un aware of water-qu ality issues. T h ey ar e also di rectly affecte d by poor water quality, beach closure s and health im pact s. T h e l e vel o f u nde rst a ndi ng an d
aware n ess should be e s tablis hed and programm es se t accordingly. It is im portant th at beac h/ri ve r users are b r o u g h t up t o spee d on t h e i ssue an d k e pt i n fo rm ed t h r o ug h out t

h e
m oni t o ri ng sea s on

. L o ca l c o m m u n ity( n o n -b ea ch u s e r s)
No t ev eryon e i n th e lo cal co mm u n ity is in terestedi n go ing to th e b e ach

. Howev e r, ev ery o n e will b e affectedb y p u b licity ab ou t poor water qua lity at ba thing beache s in thei r regi on

. Fo r e x am pl e, h o m e owne rs m a y suf f er a dr o p i np r o p e r ty val u es an d l o cal bu si nesses may notice a drop i n tra d e. A s wi th beac h us ers it is i m p o r tan t t

h e lo cal co mmu n ity is informed ab ou t th e issu e, and k e p t informedth rou gho ut th e m o n ito ring season

. Enviro nmental interest g r o u p s Env i r o n m en tal gr oup s m a y h a v e a gr eater level of

u n d erst andi ng o f t

h e i s s u e s , s o co mm u n i catin g with th em at th e sam e lev e l as th e ab o v e gr o u p s m a y be re du ndant or eve n d e trim en tal. Instead , sup port fro m th ese gro u p s sho u l d be s o u g h t

. En vi r onm ent a l g r o u p s ha ve th e ab ility to sway th e op in ion o f th e g e n e ral p u b lic, an d if suppo rtiv e of the cou n c il’s programm e m a y be a real asse t.

M

e di a Th e way th e med i a in terpret an d repo rt ev en t s will in ev itab l y in flu e n ce t h e co mm u n ity. Effo rts shou ld b e m a d e to en su re th e m e ssage being reporte d by the m e dia is accurate and factu a l, andth at th e po sitiv e asp ects o f th e
m oni t o ri ng p r o g ram m e are hi ghl i g ht ed

. Business
Th is in cl u d es: retail o u tlets, cafes, d a iries, et c t o u r i s m operat o rs (i ncl u di n g t h e T o uri s m Bo ard ) di ve cl ub s.

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I4Local busi n ess e s can be dramatically affected wh en a water-q u a lity prob lem is id en tified. Th ey can also b e v e ry i n flu e ntial in th e comm unity. Keeping them inform ed and g e ttin g t h eir sup port fo r th e m o n itoring programm e at all stages is ess e ntial. En co urag i n g tou r ist o p e rators to use clean beache s as a se lling point will be nefit the whole regi on, an d provide an i n ce ntive to clean up beache s that e x perie n ce water-quality proble m s.
Pub lic hea lth a g e ncies, ho spita ls, GPs a n d la bo ra to ries These groups need to be m a de awar e that gas t ric
an d resp irat o ry illn esses as well as sk in i n fect i o ns can be ca use dt h ro ug h c o nt act wi th bacteriol ogical ly contam inate dbathing wate r. These a g e n cies ha ve a l o t of c ontact with t h e public, s o t h ey are a b le to diss e m inate in fo rm atio n effectiv ely. Th is can b e d o n e through poste rs, fact sheets, an d advice from staff.



### What are t h e key outcomes sought?
If t h e objective of a public e d ucation and
aware n ess programm e is to en cour ag e pub lic part i c i p at i o n, t h enth e key out com e s of a pr o g ram m e shoul d be devel o ped i n c o ns ul t a t i on with th e co mmu n ity and b e prep aredt o d e liver wh at is jo in tly ag reed

. Dev e l o p i n g ou tco m es in
co nsu ltatio n wi th lo cal co mmu n ities will en su re they relate clos ely to re gional or local iss u es. On th e o th e r han d , if th e i n ten tio n is p u rely to
comm unicate the results of you r m o n ito r i ng an d to alert th e public to sp eci fic co n t am in atio n ev en ts, th en con s u ltation wouldb e inappropriate, as it woul d rais e false
ex p ectation s an d in ev itab l y resu lt in b a ck lash

. Som e key o u t c om es of a p ubl i c educat i o nan d
aware n ess programm e might be: in creasedu n d e rstand ing with in th e com m uni ty of what t

h e m oni t o ri ng p r og ramm e is ab ou t in cl ud ing : •

•

• – h o w , wh en , wher e an d wh y mo n itor i ng is do ne

– what t h e indica tor bacteria ar e and what their prese n ce means

– co sts an d o t h e r r e so ur cing issu es

– h o w t h e resu lts will b e u s ed

– the scale of t h e issue: put it i n to a local , n a tio n a l andi n tern ation a l contex t

– so ur ces of co n t a m in atio n an d p r ob lem
areas (e.g. st orm w ater, ageing infra struct ure )

– causes of c onta m ination are not always p r ed ictab l e

– ev en if a b each is ‘clean’, coun cils will
m o n ito r an y w ay to id en tify unex p ected risks
p a rticip ation in ‘care’ g r oups a dec r ease i n t h e num ber of s w i m m i ngrelatedilln esses.



### What methods should you use and what materials do you need?
The m e thods an d m a t e ri al s used t o get t

h e messag e acro s s will v ary lo cal ly an d with each st akeh ol de r gr ou p. C ons ul t a t i on wi t h t h e co mm u n ity wil l h e lp t o iden tify th e lev e l at whi c h vari ous gr o ups wi s h t o be i n v o l v e dan d how t h ey prefe r to receive m a terial and in fo rm atio n

. C o n s u lting with in th e coun cil will also h e lp t o id en tify ex isting prog ramm es th at
can be t a p p e di n t o t o a voi d rei nve nt i n g th e wheel an d c r ea t i ng c o n f usi o n. The ur ge ncy o f t h e m e ssage/ i n f o rm at i on wi l l al so det e rm i n e th e m e thods us ed; e. g. i f th e r e i s a contam inatio n e v ent an d t h e m e ssage is a pu bl i c heal t h war n i n g.

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I5S ee N o te H(xvi i ) fo r in fo rma tio n on issu ing h e a lth wa rn ings. The following are a variet y of m e thod s th at c a n be use dt o del i ver a ran g e of m a t e ri al s:

m e di a – pres s ( l ocal an d regi o n al pa pe rs, m a gazi nes), ra di o •

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

•

• in tern et fact sheets (see Appe ndix 5)
pam phl et s

co mm u n ity m e etin g s sch ool vi si t s notices i n local business es notices/pam phl ets in m e dical centres an d h o s p ital waiting roo m s p r esen tatio ns t o co un cil co mm it tee m eetin g s meetin g s with sp eci fi c user g r ou ps estab lish i ng ‘ c ar e’ gr oup s si gns at beac he s (see A p p e n d i x 3) 08 0 0 num bers get t i ng i n fl uent i a l com m uni t y m e m b ers o n boar d

.


### Practical considerations for delivering the programme
Ide n tifying up front t h e practi cal aspects of how th e pro g ramm e will b e d e liv ered will av o i d
co nfu s ion an d fru s tration wh en it co m e s ti m e to i m p l e m en tin g it. Th e fo llow i n g f act o r s should be c o n s i d ere di n a dvance o f i m pl em ent i ng t h e pr o g ram m e. Wh o?
C l earl y defi ne wh o i s res p ons i b l e f o r del i v e r i ng th e pro g ramm e

. Th is is critical. Id en tify which ag en cy will b e respon sib l e andth e ro les o f i ndi vi dual s / o f f i cers wi th i n ea ch or gani sat i o n

. Th e ro les and respo n s i b ilities set ou t in Sectio n B of Part I will h e l p t o id en tify wh ich agencies and officers s h ould be involve di n a p u b lic e d u c a tion an d a w ar en es s pr ogr a mme

. C l earl y defi ne d l i n es o f c o m m uni cat i on wi t h i n m onitoring age n cies, betwee n agencies ( r e g i on al council, terr ito r i al l o cal au t h or ity an d Med i cal Officer o f Health) andto th e pu b lic sho u l dbe doc u m ent e d i n t h e m oni t o ri ng pl an

. Th is will in clud e id en tifying t h e ag en cy and
o f

f i cer r e sp on sib l e fo r no tif yin g th e pu b lic of h ealth risk s.

Wh en ?
Determ in in g the ti m i n g fo r the prog ramm e i s al so very i m port a nt , es peci al l y whe n com m uni cat i ng i n f o rm at i on abo u t cont am i n at i on event s , whi c h r e qui res an immediate respons e. Starting the programm e with su fficien t ti m e to leadin to th e b a th i n g seaso n m a y al so be usef ul

. Ti m i ng o f p r og ramm es will v a ry con s i d erab ly acro s s th e co un try and will n eedt o b e d e cid e dl o cally.
As there is like l y to be a num b er of a g encies in vo lv edin th e prog ramm e, it is im p o r tan t to defi ne e x actly whe n eac h of t hos e a g encies becom e s invol v ed and how.

Where ? Defi n i ng th e ex ten t o f th e prog ramm e will al so affect h o w it is d e liv ered and will d e p e nd o n whi c h a g ency i s i m pl em ent i ng th e p r og ram m e

. Lo cal au tho r ities th at co -o rd i n ate pro g rammes regi onally m a y also wish to c o -ordinate t h e p u b lic e d u c a tion an d a w ar en es s pr ogr a mme

. Mo re sp ecifically, th is will affect wh at v e nues are used for public m eetings, etc.

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I6

### How w ill you monitor implementation and effectiveness?
It

i s i m port a nt bef o re be gi n n i n g a pr o g ram m e su ch as t h is to estab lish a b a se lev e l of
awaren ess. This w ill en ab le prog ress to measured using this pre-programme i n f o rm at i on. User -g r o u p s u r v ey s, h ouse h ol d surveys an d c o uncil staff s u rveys are s o m e of t h e m e t hods t h at can be use d t o achi e ve t h i s

. It

i s al so i m port a nt t o revi e w t h e pr o g ram m e on a reg u l ar b a sis. It will tak e time b e fo re ch an g e s in attitu d e s and b e h a v i o u rs are no ticed , so a lo ng -term p l an fo r rev i ew is essen tial. Ag ai n , annual s u rveys are use f ul for t h is purpose

.


### Summary An op en , ho n e st andtran sp aren t po licy with th e p u b lic is essen t ial if th e co un cil is to g a i n sup p o rt f o r t h e i r m onitorin g an d rem e diation p r og ramm es. Au t h orities who h a v e adop ted th is approach ha ve receive d a dditional funding for infra struct ure upgra d es an d increased
com m uni ty and m e di a bac k i n g. A num ber of c o u n ci l s have i m pl em ent e d p r og ramm es th at u tilise th e commu n ity resource, s u c h as training c o mmunity volunteers to m o n ito r wat e r q u a lity. Vo l u n t eers are trai n e d and pe rf o r m som e m oni t o ri n g f unct i o ns. T h i s ap pro ach h a s prov en to b e su ccessfu l in raisin g l e vel s o f aw are n ess an d un de r s t a ndi ng o f th e issues surrounding beach wat e r quality and i n g a in ing supp ort for m o n ito ri ng p r og ramm es.
For f

u rt her i n f o rm at i on o n de si gni ng an d im pl em ent i ng envi ro nm ent a l educat i o n pr o g ram m es, refer t o the M i n i stry fo r the En vi ro nm ent ’ s En viro nmen tal Edu c a tion: A gui de f o r pro g r am me pr ovi d e rs – h o w to develop, i m ple m ent and evalu ate envir o nme n tal educ at i o n pr og ram m es (1 999 ).

A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I7A P P E ND IX 1: P U BLIC EDUCA TION AN D AW ARENES S PROGRAMME O U TLI NE
. June 2003 

### I8

# Appendix 2: Developing the Guidelines In th is ap p e nd ix : sect i on 1 s u m m a ri ses t h e t w o basi c a p p r oa ches th at ha ve bee n t a ken i n t e r n at i onal l y an d i n New Zealandt o th e relation between recreational wa ter use r s ’ health risks and t h e degree of faeca l contam ination of the water, either by hum a n or anim al waste residues •

•

• sect i on 2 e x pl ai ns ho w t h e re s u l t s o f t h e s e st

udi es ha ve be en i n c o rp orat e di n t o t h e s e Gu i d elin es sect i on 3 di scu sses s o m e im plem ent a t i on issues.



### Tw o basic approac hes
Micro b i o l og ical water-qu ality g u i d e lin es for recreat i o nal ar eas m a y be dev e l ope d fr om t w o main strand s of en qu iry in t o h ealth effects: ep id em io lo g i cal stu d i es or q u an titativ e risk
assessm ent. In the form er the focus is on direct
measu r em en t of h ealth effects wh ile in the latter th e fo cu s is first o np a t h og en co n c en tration s , with h ealth ef f ects t h en b e i n g inf e rr ed u s i n g know n dos e- resp o n se rel a t i ons hi ps

. B o th types o f s t

udy have bee n use d t o devel o p t h e s e g u i d el i n es: ep id em io lo g i cal for th e m a ri n e waters and q u an titativ e risk assessm e n t fo r th e freshwaters.
The m a in reas on for choosing to ba se m a rine water gui delines on t h e e p idem iological approac h is that there is a wealt h of res u lts from such studies (Prüss 1 998 ), in cl u d i ng so m e f o r N e w Zealan d ( M cBr i d e , Salm ond et al 19 9 8 )

. On th e othe r han dver y few
suc h stu d ies ar e available fo r fres h w a ters, an d those that are a v ailable are ne arly all confine dto lak e s, no t r i vers. H o w e v e r, we ar e no w in pos sessi o n of a

l a rge am ount of dat a fo r pat h oge ns and indicators in fres hwaters and this has facilitateda quan titativ e risk assessm en t ap pro a ch

. Acco r d i n gl y , th e gui del i n es for freshwaters are base d ont h i s a p p r oach

.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
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### I9It is im p o r tan t to no te th at th e wealth of results fro m in tern ation a l stud ies n o w av ailab l e p o i n t
ove r w hel m i ngl y t o anass o ci at i on bet w ee n i l l ness risk t o recreati onal water use r s and t h e conce n tr at i o n of sui t abl e faec al i ndi cat o r s (a s revi e w ed by Pr üss 1 9 9 8 )

. Th ey sh ow t h at c a ref u l studies ar e nee d ed to re veal the relations hip, p a rticu l arly b e cau se m a n y o f th e illn esses conce r ned are m i l d and n o re cor d s ar e ke pt of th ei r occurre nce (i.e

. they ar e not ‘notifia ble’). 11 Fu rt h e rm o r e, th ese illn esses in clud e b o t h g a stro in testin al and resp i r atory categories (when
so ugh t, resp irato ry illn ess effects h a v e o f ten b e en f oun d ; e.g. Fatt al et al 19 86 ; C o rb ett et al 1993 ; Fleisher, Kay, Salm on et al 1996; McBri d e, Salm ond et al 1998). 12 Wh ile so m e stu d i es fail to detect an assoc i ation (e .g

. Ne w Je rsey De partm e nt of

Heal th 1 9 8 9 ) , t h i s ap pear s t o be ca use dei t h er by a lack of suffic i ent statisti cal powe r or a lack of an ‘ex p o su re gra d ient’; i.e. a s u f f i cient ran g e o f
co n t am in atio n in th e waters st u d i ed(as was t h e case in t h e Ne w Je rsey study )

.
E p i d e m io lo g i c a l s t ud i e s In th ese stud ies on e aim s to disco v e r th e illness
reco rd o f a

nu m ber of wat e r users w h o use d a recreation a l site on a p articu l ar d a y – a d a y on wh ich water-qu ality sa m p les were also tak e n

. Th is calls for an int e nsive effo rt in interviewing beach
users o n t h e sa m p li ng day , an d fol l o wi n g t h e m up so m e d a ys later to ob tain a reco rd o f h ealth effects; i.e. a record of self-d iagn o s is is ob tain ed(m ed ical records are not available for e x am ination bec ause
m o st swi mmin g - asso ciated illn esses are m ildand
n o t no tifiab l e). Asso ciation s b e tween h ealth effect s an d t h e swi m m e rs ver s us no n - swi m m e rs are so ugh t, to g e t an estim a t e of an y swimminga s so cia t ed, p o l lu tio n-rela ted effects.

11 More severe illnes ses ( e .g. typhoid) do occur among swi mmers at grossly polluted beaches ( e

. g

. in E g ypt, E l

- Sharkawi & Hassan 1979; Cabelli 19 8 3a).

12 Ea r, nose, throat and skin symptoms are also foun d, often being attributed to bat he r- to- bather transm i ssion, rather than to microorgani sms of faecal origin. Th e g r oup of peo p l e i n terv iew e d m a y b e th o s e who h a v e d ecid e d of t h eir o w n v o litio n to atten d the beac h, wit h out knowing t h at a study was in p r og ress, in which case it is an u n co nt r o l l e d pr os pect i v e st u d y
. O n t h e ot h e r han d pe opl e m a y b e recru itedi n to th e stud y an d tak e n to a part icu l ar beach whe r e they m a y swim , in whic h case it is a cont r o l l e d c o h o rt study. Mos t epidem iologi cal st

udi es ha ve be en of th e fo rm er ki n d , b u t m o re recent e f forts have use dthe controlled a p proa ch.
R e sul t s f r om cont rol l e d co h o rt st

udi es ha ve recently bee n e n dorsed by t h e World Health Or gani zat i on an d are bei n g incorporated int o their in tern ation a l gu id an ce (WHO 20 03). Acco rd ing l y, these New Zea l and guidelines are als o base d on that approac h , marking a distinct chan ge from p r ev iou s ed ition s o f th e New Zealan d gu id el in es ( 199 2, 1 998 , 19 99)

. Neve rthel e ss , c o m p rehe ndi ng th e hi st ory of t h e devel opm ent o f t h ese st u d i e s m a y be hel p f u l , as g i v e n in th e fo llo wing sectio ns.
US stu d ies
Co n c erns ab out h ealth risk s to b a th ers i n co n t am in ated w a ter i n A m er i ca in th e 1940 s ledto th e US Pub lic Health Serv ice con d u c ting a series
o f

un co n tro lled pro s p ectiv e follo w-up ep id em io lo g i cal stu d i es at river, lak e an d coastal sites f r o m 1 9 4 8 to 195 0 (Steven s o n195 3)

. Th is was a larg e stud y th at repo rtedtwo statistically significant ass o ciations bet w een s w immers’ health risk and water q u a lity, m easu r ed as co n c en tratio n o f

to tal co lifo r m s . Th ese two find ing s were for beache s on La ke Michi g an, a t Chicago, an d for the Ohi o R i ve r at Day t on , Kent u c ky ( n one we r e f o u n d for th e two m a rin e sites, in New York City).

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
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### I10The st udy desi gnco nsi s t e d o f t h ree m a jor ele m ents:

•

•

•

•

•

• approachi n g pe ople at t h e bea c h to see whether th ey w oul d a g r ee t o bei n g q u e s t i one d a few d a ys later ab out th eir h ealth mak i n g water-q u a lity m easu r e m en ts at th e beach on t h e sa me day as beac h-goers are approache d with in a few days, qu estion i ng tho s e who agree dt o th e f o l l o w - up as t o any s ubse q uent illn ess, as well as a h o s t of o ther p o ssi b l y con f ou n d i n g fa ct ors (s uch as othe r s w i m m i n g , foods eaten, an im al c ont act an d ho use h ol d si cknes s ).
El em ent s of t h e desi gno f st

u d i e s used t o de vel o p gui del i n es ha v e bee n que st i o ned o v e r t h e y ears (e.g . Cab e lli et al 1 975 ; Moo r e 19 75). Th is h a s i n cl ude d t h e fo l l o wi n g ob ject i ons: ‘swi m m i ng’ di d not necessari l y i n cl ude hea d i mmer s io n to tal co liform s are n o t v e ry effectiv e ind e x e s o f faecal pollution non-swimm e rs we re not at t h e beac h.
Suc h flaws we re a d dr esse d inm a jor f u rther studies carried ou t i n t h e US i n th e late 1 970 s andearly 1 980 s for bo th marin e waters (Cab elli 198 3 a ) an d fresh waters (Du f ou r 19 84), with th e m o tiv atio n of p r ov id ing pu b l ic p o licy ag en cies with a rel a t i ons hi p be t w een “ s wi m m i ng -ass oci a t e d, p o llu tion-relat e dilln ess risk ” andtyp i cal
conce n trations of faecal i ndic a tors (Cabelli e t al 1975). T h e i d e awas that thos e age n cies c oul d use an ‘accepta ble’ health ri sk to deri ve limits for faecal indicator c once n trations. T h ese resear che r s neve r did advocate any acce ptable particular val u es o f th e s e ri sks

. M o t i v at i on f o r t h e ot he r st

udi es was si m i l a r. Som e w o r k er s have act ual l y recom m ended gui del i n es or st andar d s (G rab o w et al 1989; W y er et al 1999). Othe r m a ri ne wat e r e p i d em iol o gi cal st u d i e s ha ve been carried out in t h e USA, at New Jersey beache s (Ne w Jersey Department of Health 1989) and at Santa M onica Bay, near storm w ater outfalls (Hai l e et al 19 96 ). T h e l a t t e r st

u d y di d di scove r h ealth effects relatedto p r ox imit y to th e ou tfalls.

UK stu d ies Meanwhile, in the UK a vie w had hel ds w ay since th e late 195 0 s th at swimmers’ h ealth risk had no relations hip to degree of faeca l contam ination, unless beac hes we re “aestheti cally revolting” (MRC 1959) or “aesthetically ve ry unsatisfa ctory” ( P HLS 19 59 ). Th at view was challenged increasingly over the years as being unte n a b le (e.g. K a y & McDo nald198 6 a ; 19 86 b) : it w a s d e r i v e d fr om a ret r os pe ct i v e case c ont rol st udy f o r t w o sev e re and no tifiab l e illn esses, and g e n e ralisedto all illn esses (man y of wh ich are n o t no tifiab l e, and
so lack an y substan tial d a ta). Accord ing l y, so m e pr os pect i v e un cont rol l e d st

u d i es ha ve al so b een carried out i n t h e UK also (Pi k e 1994). 13

An ot he r U K gr ou p has p r o p o s e d th at suc h st udi es are better carri ed out usi n g a recruited, controlled
co hor t app r o a ch ( J on es et al 19 91)

. Th is coho r t is rando m l y sp lit in to swimmin g and n on-swimmin g parts. All eat the sam e foods. T h e s w immers are directed where to s w im an dfo r ho w long (im m e rsing the hea dth ree tim es). M a ny wat e rq u a lity m easu r e m en ts are m a d e at th e assi g n ed swimmin g po i n ts. Th e fo llow-up co n s ists o f bo th self-re p o rtin g an d clinical exa m inations.

13 This report reviews two sets of UK studies: controlled s t udies at four beaches ( s ubsequently reported by Kay et al 1994 and by Fleisher, Kay, Sal mon et al 1996)
, and unco n trolled studies at another eight beac hes ( partly reported by B a larajan et al 1989 a nd A l exander et al 1992). A full open-literature paper on t h e eightbeach study has n o t been sighted.

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### I11The fi n d i n gs o f th ese care f ul st udi es (e nd or s e d by Telford 1996) have re ported t h at faecal st rept oc occi w e re rel a t e d t o a dve rse g a stro in testin al h ealth effects (th r esho ld 32 per 10 0 m L , Kay e t al 19 9 4 ) an d t o ac ut e fe bri l e resp i r ato ry illness (t h r esho ld 6 0 p e r 10 0 m L , Fleish er, Kay, Sal m o n et al 19 96). (Th i s d e fin itio n of res p iratory i llness re quires an acc om panying feve r, an d s o is m o re strin g ent thanthat use d in othe r studies, s u ch as t h e one carried out i n New Zeal and by M c B r i d e, Sal m ond et al 19 9 8

. )
No te th a t th e an alys is o f th e s e UK stu d i es p o s tu la te s the exis tenc e of a threshold eff ect (a va lue of water q

u a li ty b e lo w wh ich th ere i s n o illn es s risk t o swim m e rs what soever and above whi c h t h ere i s ). Anal y s es of ot her st udi es ( e .g. C a belli 1983a; Dufou r 19 84) h a ve used cont i nuous rel a ti onshi ps b e tween water q u a li ty an d swi mmers’ h e a l th . Th is i s m o r e consi s tent wit h

t

h e m i xt ure of ages and health sta t us of usual beach-goers: while an i ndi vi dual m ay have a part icular t h reshol d, it i s unl i k ely t

h at a whol e popul at ion wo ul d share t h e sa me value. Fo r that rea s on the UK analys is notes t h at t h e t h resho l d shoul d not b e consi d ered as an “ab so lute ” v a lu e, n o tin g th at i t may b e se t to a lo wer val u e were t h e st udy t o have incl uded a l a rger num ber of peopl e (W y e r et al 1999 ).
Othe r rel e vant UK m a ri ne wa t e r st u d i e s are B r o w n et al 1987; Balarajan et al 1989 (see als o its di scussi o n by Hal l & R o dr i g ues 1 9 9 2 ); Al e x an de r et al 1992 an d Fewtrell et al 1994. Fres hwat er st

udi es f o r can o ei st s an d raft e r s have bee n re po rt ed by Fe wtrell et al (1992, 1994) and by Lee et al ( 199 7)

.
NewZe al an d s t udie s Prospective epi d em iological studies we re carried out at seve n N e w Zeal an d be aches i n th e 1 9 95/ 96 bath i n g seaso n(M cB ri de , Sal m ond et al 19 9 8 )

. Th is was p a rticu l arly driv en by co n c ern s in th e Auc k land re gion about possi ble healt h effe cts at
m a ri ne beac he s. Prior to statistical analysis ea ch beach wa s placed into one of t h re e categories: (i ) im pacted by hum an wastes, (ii) impacted by an imal wastes, or (ii i ) p r istin e. An ass o ciation betwee n e n terococci c o nce n tration and res p irat ory illness sym p tom s am ong thos e en tering t h e water was id en tified

. 14 T h i s i n cl ude d “pad dl ers” , wh o e n t e re d t h e w a t e r b u t di d n o t i mmerse th eir h eads (e.g. tend ing sm all ch il d r en ). Relativ e risk s in th e h i g h e st en tero co cci qu artile
w e r e r a th er h i gh : 4.5 fo r th e pad d l er s an d 3.3 fo r lo ng -du r ation swimmers . T h e unexpectedly limited range of beach co ntamination duri ng the
su rv ey p r ecl u d edth e po ssi b ility o f d e v e lop i ng a d e tailedstatistical m o d e l o f health risk v e rsus i ndi cat o r den s i t y , as ha d bee nh ope d. 15 No
su bstan tial d i fferen ces in illn ess risk s were fo und b e tween th e two typ e s of im p actedb e ach, bu t th e health risks f o r

b o th we re se p a rable fr om that at p r istin e b each e s.
Stud ies in o t her co untries
Ot he r rel e vant epi d em i o l ogi c a l st udi es ha ve been conducted i n t h e following co un tries (an ast e risk * d e no tes a retrosp ectiv e st u d y ):

•

•

•

• Au st ralia: Co rb ett et al 199 3 ; Harring ton et al 1 993 Canada: E H D 1980; Seyfried et al 1985a and 1 985 b ; Ligh tf oo t 198 9 Eg yp t: Cabelli 1 983 a; El-Sh ark awi & Hassan 19 7 9* Fran ce: Foul on et al 19 83 ; Ferley et al 1 989 *

14 Some statistically significant ass o ciati ons with faecal coliform and E. coli concentrations were also note d . However their s trength was lower because they tended not to rise throug h the quartil es of that indicator’ s concen trations ( w hereas enterococci did so rise) and their relative risks were also lower than for enterococci.

15 The enterococci quartiles cut-offs were 1.5, 3.75 and 13 enterococci per 100 mL.

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### I12•

•

•

•

•

• H o lland : Med e ma et al 1 995 , 1 997 H ong K ong : Ho lm es 1 9 8 9 ; C h eung et al 19 90 ; Kue h et al 1995 I s r ael: Fattal et al 19 86 , 198 7, 19 91 New Zealand: Bandaranaya ke et al 1993; 16 McBride, Salmond et al 1998 Spain: M u jerie g o et al 1982*; Mariño et al 19 9 5b So ut h Af ri ca: Vo n Schi rn di n g et al 19 9 2 ; 1 9 9 3

C

o m pari n

g c o nt rol l e d an d u n cont r o l l e d st udie s Most of t h e studies listed a bove ar e of t h e
u n c on tro lledtyp e , so it is app r o p riate to con s id er whic h of the t w o m a in approaches t o ep id em io lo g i cal stu d i es is th e b e tter.
Th e first co nsid eration is t o no te th at t h ere is no opt i m al way of co nd uct i n g e p i d em i o l ogi cal surveys – eac h approach has its drawbac k s (L acey and Pike 1989). Clearly s o m e are better t h an ot he rs, an d fl aws i nol der st

u d i e s have bee n id en tified and re m e d i edin later stud ies, su ch th at a
r eason ab ly consisten t bo d y of ev id en ce h a s no w been gat h ere d (Prüss 199 8). In sp ite o f th e
u n c ertain ties inv o l v e d in ep i d e m io lo g i cal stud ies with low attack rates, it is o f t e n still con s id ered to b e th e b e s t lin e of ap pr o a ch ( c f

. a r i sk c a l c u latio n approach), where fea s ible (Ware 1990). T h i s vie w is in sp ite of the fact th at fu nds th at wou l d b e sp en t
o nex ten s iv e interv iewi n g in t h e ep id em io lo g i cal approach could be spe n t on a wi de r ran g e of i ndi cat o r s an d path oge ns i n a ri sk -cal cul a t i o n approach.

16 This reports a prel iminary trial at two beaches. The c o ntrol l e d coh o r t p r o s pec t i v e ap pr oac h of fers the m o st accurate m e thodology, m i nim i s i ng bias and p r ovi di n g fo r a bal a nc ed m a t c hi ng of swimmers and n on-swimm e rs (Fleish e r 19 90b ; Fleish er , Jo n e s, K a y & M o r ano 1 993 ). Ho wev e r, its u s e d o e s requ ire p r e-p u b licity, wh ich m a y cau se enhance dsel f -r epo r t i n g rat e s ( W heel e r & A l e x an d e r 19 92 ). A l s o , th e co hor t u s ed (h ea lth y adul t vol unt ee r s ) i s not typi cal o f th e us ual be achgoi ng p o pul at i o n( w hi c h i n cl ude s m a ny age s an d
v a riab le h ealth statu s ), an d the typ e of swimmin g activ ity m a y n o t b e typ i cal either – es pecially for high wave -e ne rgy New Zealan d beac hes where bo o g ey b o ar di ng an d b ody su rfi n g ar e s o p o pul ar

. (This is im portant, because cl ose-t o -s hore waters
are o f ten th e mo re po llu ted.)
Th e un con t ro lled co hor t pros pective a p proa ch of

fers th e a d vant ages o f m i ni m a l pre- pu bl i c i t y and of

usi n g th e act ual p o pul at i o n usi n g t h e beac h. It
su ffers fro m d i fficu lties in assig n i ng water qu ality to particular s w immers (accordi n g to where they
sw am ) an d in hav i ng a som e what unbalance d set
o f

sw imm e r s an d non

- s w i mmer s. Th e v i ew tak e n in th ese gu idelin es is th at, giv e n the endorsem ent of t h e W HO (2 003 ), th e resu lts of th e carefu lly co ndu ctedcon t ro lledco hort UK stu d i es will b e u s edas a b a sis for m a rin e b e ach g r ad ing

. No te th at th e illn ess rates repo rted b y th ese stud ies, bo th fo r sw immer s an d fo r nonswi m m e rs, t e n dt o be hi ghe r t h anf o r

u n c ont rol l e d st

udi es.

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### I13Th e quant itativ e risk assessment approa ch
So m e early work lead ing t o the settin g o f wat e rq u a lity m i cro b i o l og ical stand ard s and gu id elin es was base d ona ri sk cal cul a t i o n a p p r oach

. F o r exam ple, Stree t er (1951) calculated an i ndi vidual’s
r i sk of co n t r act in g typho idf e ver o r “d iarrho eaen teritis” assumin g a co n c en t r atio n of 1 000 to tal
co liform s p e r 10 0 m L . For 9 0 con s ecu tiv e daily
ex po su res to this con cen tr ati o n the calculate d risks were 1 : 9 5 0 and 1 : 50 for th e two illn esses,
r e sp ectiv ely. A l so , Fu rf ar i (1 968 ) r e p o r t s ho w sh ellfish standard s h a v e b e en calcu lated

. 17
Recent de velopm ents in this approach ha ve note da num ber of s h o rt c om i ngs (see especi al l y Haa s et al 19 9 9 )

. Inpart i c ul ar:

•

•

• water use r s e x perie n ce a range of
conce n t r at i o ns of pat h o g e n s an d i n di cat ors fr om one day t o t h e ne xt , an d evenwi t h i n a d a y th ey al so ha ve vari a b l e rat e s o f i n gest i o n or in h a lation o f water, an d fo r v aryin g ti m e s d o s e-respon se relatio n s h i p s (b etween illn ess ri sk an d i n di ca t o r de nsi ty ) ha ve beenl acki n g.
W i t h th e a dve n t of p o w er ful c o m put er t ech n o l o gy these iss u es can now be a d dre ssed relatively easily, usi n g ‘M o n t e C a rl o’ m a th em at i cal m odel l i ng. Th is is kn own as th e Qu an titativ e Risk Assessm en t (QR A ) a p pr oa ch. Hi st ori cal dat ai s used t o assi gn statistical d i stri b u tion s to t h e i n g e stio n /inh a latio n rat e s, du rat i o n of ex p o su re, an d t h e co nce n t r a t i on o f

p a t h og en s i n th e water. Th en a rando m s a m p le is taken from each distribution to calculate t h e d o s e, wh ich is th en t u rn edin t o infection o r illn ess p r ob ab ilities, or in t o cases, u s in g a do se-respo n s e cur v e. T h i s sa m p li ng i s d one m a ny t i m e s ov er t o sim u late a large population being e x posed to beach water t h at m a y, o n som e occa si ons , be contam inated.

17 By requiring that n o more than 50% of 1 mL samples we re positive for coliforms, that being equiva lent to an MPN of about 70 per 100 mL. Whe n t h i s i s d one f o r

a po p u l a t i on of pe o p l e at a give n beach (not dis p erse d over m a ny beaches) the end res u lt is that on a m a jorit y of occasi o ns there
are no cases of infection, but on a few occas ions (w he n t h e co nt am i n at i on i s u nus ual l y hi gh an d recreational wa ter contact actually occurs ) a
n u m b e r o f infectio n s , and h e nce illn ess, cou l d
occur. The greatest weakne ss of this approach is the pauci ty o f d o se -res p onse i n fo r m at i on. Ho we ver , a sur p ri si ng am ount i s n o w a v ai l abl e – a s re vi e w ed by Te uni s et al ( 1 9 9 6 ) f o r gas troi n t e st i n al pathoge ns; Mc Bride et al (2002) als o incl ude a revie w of m a terial fo r a d e n o v i rus res p irato ry pat h oge ns , onl y som e of whi c h i s c o vere d by Haas et al ( 199 9)

. The NewZe al an d st u d

y The QRA approach ha s been reporte din s o me d e tail for New Zealan d fr eshwater recreational wat e rs, as a co nse que nce of a

l a rge nat i o nal st udy at

22 ri ver an d t h ree l a ke si t e s , i n w h i c h fi ve i ndi cat o r s an d si x pat h oge ns were sam p l e d fo rtni g h t l y f o r 15 m onths i n t h e peri od 1 9 9 8

– 2 0 0 0 (McBride et al 2002). T h e m a in reas on for adopting the QRA a p proac h was t h at epi d em i o l ogi c a l st udi es – ei t h er co nt r o l l e d or unc o n t r ol l e d – were hel dt o be u n feasi b l e

. W h i l e McBride et al (1996) conc l u d e d t h at a

c ont r o l l e d
co hor t stud y w oul d in fact be feasible, t w o su bsequ e n t consid eration s ru ledit ou t. First was th e d i fficu lty i n recru itin g su i t ab le coh o rts with in proper et hical requi rem e nts, and sec o nd was the p au c ity of av ai lab l e d a ta on path og ens an d indicators i n New Zealan d fre s hwate r s. Given that th ere were m a ny i n di cat i ons that fre sh water s we re rather m o re contaminated th an m a rin e b eaches, it
seem edp r ud ent to attem p t to p l ug th is g a p an d to use t h e re sults in a QRA approach.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I14Th at stud y p r odu c eda w ealt h of inf o r m atio n on th e di stri but i o no f path oge ns an d i n di cat ors

. In part i c ul ar i t

f

o un d t h at C a m p

yl ob act e r was prese n t in 60% of all s a m p les, and t h at hum an ente rovi rus and/ or h u m a n aden o v i r us wer e p r esent i n 54 % o f
sam p l e s. C onc ent r at i o ns an d occu rre nces o f Sal mo nel la e , Gi ar di a cysts an d C r y

p to sp o r id i u m oocysts we re l o w. Catc hm ents im pacted pre d om i n ant l y by bi rds we re t h e m o st cont am i n at ed, fol l o we d by t h ose i n whi c h th e dom i n ant i m pact was fr om dai ry i ng or s h eep farm i ng. The deg r ee of co nt am i n at i on was stron g l y relatedto th e t u rb id i t y o f t

h e water.
Inesse nce t h e st udy c o nfi r m e d t h e co nt i nue d use of E. co li as a faecal health-ris k indicator, at l east so far as C a m p

yl ob act e r i s c o ncer ne d. 18 Unfortunately correlations b e tween t h is ind i cato r and th e t w o vi r u s gr o ups e x a m i n ed ( h um an ent e r ovi r u s an d hum an ade n o v i r us) we re ver y poor, as wa s the case for all ot her indicators
exam ined – somatic coliphage, FRNA pha g e and C

. perf i n ge ns s p ores. Also, c o rrelation bet w een th e en ter o v i ru s andad enov irus gr oup s w a s po or (ent er o v i r us ha s al so bee n use d as a gene ral vi r u s i ndi cat o r).
Accord ing l y, in th e h ealt h -risk m o d e llin g p a rticu l ar attentio n was p a id to C a mpylobacter in fection as well as en tero v i rus andad en ov iru s in fection s

. 19 Of th e two v i ru s gr oup s, dos e- resp o n se i n f o rm at i on sugge sts strongly that ad enov iru s is m u ch th e m o re in fectiv e, with risk pr ofi l e s fo r a g i ven beac h bei n g ve ry si m i l a r t o th at fo r C a mp ylobacter in fection s

.

18 Campylobacteriosi s illness forms more than half of all reported notifiable illnesses in New Zealand, in recent times bein g aroun d 300 cases per 10 0, 000 po pulati on per annum ( s ee the New Zealand P ublic Health R e p o rts, published by E S R

)

. 19 The endpoint of thi s analsyis was take n as infection, not illness, principally becaus e once infection ra tes are controlled to low levels, so too will be the illness rate. Al so th ere are some sever e practical difficulties in determining the prob abi lity of illness ( g ive n infection has occurred) as a function of dose ( T

eunis et al 1999)

. 

### Deriving the guidelines
The fol l o wi n g sect i ons desc ri be t h e ba si s o f t h e gui delines fo r m a rine wate r an d the n fo r f r e sh water , bo th f o r th e gr ad in g of b each e s an d fo r their ongoing surveillan ce. In each ca se a sub s ect i o nde s c ri bes t h e c h an ges fr om previ ous gui del i n es.

G e n e ra l co ns id e r a t io n s Si nce 19 9 9 th e WHO has fa v o u r e d usi n g 9 5 p e rcen tiles o f m i cro b i o l ogical co n c en tratio n s fo r gra d i n g bea c hes vi a a M i cr obi ol o g i cal Assessm ent Category (first propose di n the An na pol i s Pr ot ocol , WH O 19 99 ). T h at ap p r oach is ado p t ed h e r e ; i.e. th ese 2003 g u i d e lin es incorporate a ri sk-base d a p pr o ach t o m oni t o ri ng recreation a l waters, in add ition to sing le samp les
as use di n pre v ious guidelines . T h e purpose of in corpo r ating risk assessm en t is to o v e rco m e th e con s t r ai nt s of t h ese pre v i o us gui del i n es, as di scuss e d i n Se ct i on C

. Tak i ng r i sk in t o co nsid erati o n when assessi ng a site is achieve d via a gradi n g process , c o m b ining hi st ori cal m i crobi ol o g i cal res u l t s an d sani t a r y in sp ection i n form at io n to g i v e an ov erall Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e. Th is grad e p r ov id es an assessm en t o f th e co nd itio n of a site at
an y g i v e n tim e , wh ile sing le sa m p les are u s edto id en tify an y immed i ate h ealth risk

. Th e WHO prov id es no gu id an ce for su rv eillan ce val u es; t h ei r de ri vat i o n i s e x pl ai ned bel o w. See N o t e G( x) for di scus si o n o n t h e A n n a pol i s Prot oc ol

.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I15Ma r i n e wat ers
B e ach gradi n

g Resu lts of th e UK con tro lled ep id em io lo g i cal trials have bee n use d t o devel o p a f o u r-cat e g o ry s cal e, as sh own in Tab l e H1

. Th e essen tial resu lts are th ose for g a stro in test in al illn ess (as repo rted b y Kay et al 19 9 4 ; W y e r et al 19 9 9 ) , but al so acc om pani ed by th e resu lts for resp iratory illn ess rep o rted b y Fleisher, Kay, Salm on et al (1996). In esse nce 9 5 p e rcen tile en tero co cci v a lues h a v e b e en id en tified relatin g to cu t-o f f gastro in testin al risk s of 1% , 5%, an d 10 %. Th e as sociated res p iratory illn ess risk cu t

- o f fs are 0

. 3 % , 1

. 9 % and 3

. 9 %

. 20 Readers are directed to t h ese publications for det a i l s of t h e m odel l i ng ap pr oach u s ed t o d e ri ve these values.

Bea c h surveilla nce Neith er th e WHO (2 003 ) no r th e au tho r s of th e UK st

udi es o n whi c h t h e WH O g u i d an ce i s base d gi ve an y gu id an ce fo r d e riv i ng surv eillan ce v a lu es. Acco r d i n gl y , we have u s ed r e sul t s f r om pre v i o us
u n c on tro lledep id em io lo g i cal stud ies, in p art icu l ar th o s e of Cab e lli (198 3 a ), also u s edin prev i o u s versi o n s of t h e gui del i n es. W h i l e th i s c oul d be argue dto be somewhat disl oc ated, it has the ad v an t ag e of main tain in g goo d con tinu ity with past practice.

20 Note that these are risks of acute febrile respiratory illness ( A FRI). I n the New Zealand study ( M

cB ri de, Salmond et al 199 8)
, and in other studies, a less strict definition of respiratory illness has been used – essentially not requirin g fever as an accompanyi ng symptom. This was a deliberate choice in the N e w Zealand study, given our incidence of asthma. A ccordingly, th e risks of more res p iratory illness would be hi gher than these AFRI results indicate. These val u e s ar e obt ai ne d by assum i ng t h at t h e d i stribu tio n of en tero co cci is lo gno rm al, th e st andard de vi at i on o f th e l o gar i th m s of e n t e r o cocci
conce n t r at i o n i s 0. 7 (a reas on abl e ave r a g e of available data) and the e n teroc o cci conce n trat ion is at

t h e p r e v i o us l i m i t of a m e di an of 3 5 per 1 0 0 m L (correspo n d i ng, und er Cab e lli’s m o d e l, to a swi m m i ng-ass o ci at ed ri sk o f 19 pe r 1 0 0 0 ba t h i n g events ). T h en the alert (am b er) an d action (red) li mits are tak e n as th e 80 % an d 90 % upp er o n e sid e d to leran c e li m i ts for th at d i stribu tio n. 21 T h ese fi g u res m a y be si m p l y cal cul a t e d as 1 3 6 an d 27 6 enterococci pe r 100 m L

. 22 Ha vi ng re gar dt o th e unce r t a i n ty i n est i m a ti ng th e st andard de vi at i on ( o f th e log a rith m s ) it seem s ap p r op riate to ro und th ese f i gu r e s to 14 0 an d 280 en teroco cci p e r 10 0 m L

. It is im p o r tan t to no te th at while th is calcu latio n is b a sed o nth e assu m p tio n th at waters are m a rg in al for co m p lian ce with t h e m e d i an v a lu e, th is do es not m ean th at t h e alert andact io n lim its will o n l y be e x ceeded once the he alth risk rises above 19 pe r 1000 s w imming e v ents

. In fa ct the alert an d action limits begin to be e x ceeded when the t r ue median
co n c en tration i s so m e way belo w 19 pe r 10 0 0 events . T h e unfortunate f act i s that we can only associate particular risks with avera g e or m e dian
v a lu es of en tero co cci; it is imp o s sib l e to asso ciate risk s with an y p a rticu l ar en tero co cci v a l u e. All that can be said is t h at if t h e alert and action levels
are n o t ex ceededth en t h e illness risk s are some
w a y b e l o w 19 p e r 100 0 r e cr eatio n a l ev en ts.

21 I n the one- s ided case, toler ance limits and confidence limits are operationally ident i cal; this is not so in a two- sided case.

22 The 80 percentile and 90 percentile abscissae of the un it normal distributio n are 0. 8416 a nd 1. 28 16 r e spectively. So the one- s ided 80% upper toleran ce limit is 35x10 0.8 4 16x0. 7 = 135. 9. Similarly the 90% upper toleran ce limit is 35x10 1.2 8 16x0. 7 = 276. 2.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I16C h an ges fr om previ o u s gui d

e l

i n es The pre v i o us g u i d el i n es we re base d on C abel l i ’ s
u n c on tro lled st udy , as i m pl em ent e d by th e USEPA. T h at is a m e dian ent e roc o cci
conce n tr at i o n of 3 5 per 1 0 0 m L , corres p o n d i n g t o a swimmin g - asso ciatedilln ess risk of 19 p e r 1 000 swimmers. Also t h e alert and actio n lim its h a v e beenr o un de d f r om 13 6 an d 2 7 7 ent e roc o cci per 10 0 m L t o 14 0 an d 28 0 e n t e r o cocci pe r 10 0 m L

.
B a ck gr oun d t

o t h e ch an ges It is of i n terest to no te th at th e prev i o u s gu idelin es were no t b a sed on an ex p licit ad op tion o f an ‘accepta ble illness risk’ of 19 per 1000 bat h e r s. What i n fact ha ppe ne d i s t h at th e USEP A fi rs t pr o pose dt h at c r i t e ri a be base d o n a m a xi m u m acceptable illness risk of six per 1000 bat h e r s (i n th e Fe deral Re gister 198 4) , co rr esp ond ing t o a geom etri c m e an (o r m e di an) c once n tr at i o n o f th ree enterococci pe r 100 m L . Submissions on the p r op o s al no ted th is limit was so l o w as to b e i m p r actical (i.e. un attain ab le) in n e ar-sho re co astal envi ro nm ent s . The co u n t e r-arg um ent was m a de that the pre v ious lim it (g e o metric m ean 200 faecal
co lif or m s p e r 10 0 m L ) h a d app ear edt o w o r k satisfacto r ily, so wh y no t use co rresp ond ing li mits of enteroc o cci ? T h is argum e nt was acce pted by the USEPA, which use d ra tios of faecal coli form s vers us enteroc o cci to e s tablis h c o rres pondences betwee n faecal coliform s and the ne w prefe rred enterococci i n dicator ( F ave r o 19 8 5 ; U S EP A 1986a), i.e. 200 faecal coliform s per 100 m L
corres ponded to 35 ente r o co cc i p e r 100 mL in
co astal waters. Using Cab e lli’s relatio nsh i p , t h is
co rresp ond s to an illn ess risk o f 19 p e r 100 0 b a th ing ev en ts.
Th at is, t h e ‘accep tab l e’ illn ess risks were not chosen a p r i o ri 23 bu t w e r e ca lc ula t e d , once it was deci de d th at ri s k s c o r r es po n d i n g t o t h e pre v i ous criteria (200 fa ecal colif orm s per 100 m L , as a geom et ri c m e an) sh o u l d be a d opt e d

.

23 I t would be very o dd if they had been
, since 19 is not a number that the public might g e nerally adopt as being ‘acceptable’. In contrast, the s e ne w guidelines ar e base d on an explicit choice of accepta ble risks.

Fre s hw aters

B e ach gradi n

g Fo r co n s isten c y with th e m a ri n e g r ad ing syst e m , the sam e basic structure is use d for the M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory , i

. e. a f

o u r category scale. Howeve r, t h e ri sk c u t

- of fs ha ve been set at lower values: 0.1%, 1% an d 5% . T h ere are two reas ons for adoptin g these l o we r values. Fi rst , t h ey ar e base d on C a m p

yl o bact e r infectio n o n l y: we sim p l y lack cred ib le in fo rm atio n to d e v e l o p risk fig u res fo r o th e r illn esses. Ho wev e r, as th is p a rticu l ar infection is i m p o r tan t in t h e New Zealan d settin g th ese risk s h a ve b e en taken as a sui t abl y p r eca u t i onary a p pr oa ch. Sec o n d , t h e
up p e r lev e l (5%) represen ts a do ub ling o f th e b ackgroun d in fectio n rate and th is h a s b e en viewed as a to lerab l e up p e r lim i t

. These risks ha ve been calcul a ted in t h e Ne w Zealan d QR A stu d y (McBride, Till, Ryan et al 2 002 ) fo r C a m p

yl o bact e r infectio n , resu lts fo r whi c h as gi veni n Ta bl e H2

. The deri vat i o n of th at t abl e ’ s f i gu res rel i e d o n th e m oderat e co rre l a t i ons f o un d i n th e Ne w Zeal and st

udy betw ee n Campylobacter and E. co li
conce n trations . T h e values of calculated Campylobacter co nce n tr at i o n s co rres p on di n g t o th e ri s k c u t

- of f s we re obt ai ne d. T h ese corres ponded to C a mpylobacter p e rcen tiles o f 5 5 %, 70 % an d 8 0–8 5%. 24 The corres ponding p e rcen tiles of E. c o li were then read from its d i str i bu tio n, b e in g 13 1, 2 6 1 an d abou t 550 E. c o li per 1 0 0 m L . T h ese val u es we re th e n ro u nde d t o th e val u es i n T abl e H 2 ( v i z , 1 3 0 , 26 0, 5 5 0 E. c o li respectively).

24 Using the results for all beaches and all times in Table A 3

. 7

. 3 of McB r ide et al ( 200 2)

.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I17Bea c h surveilla nce In the a b se nce of better i n formation, the alert and action le vels have been take n as the second and th ird E. c o li c u t

- of fs f o r beac h gra d i n g.
C

h an ges fr om previ o u s gui d

e l

i n es The prev i ous g u i d eli n es w e re based on t h e D u four (1984) st udy , as im p l em en t e d by t h e USEPA. That is a med i an E. c o li concent r at i o n of 126 per 100 m L , correspondi ng to a sw imm i ng-associat ed il l n ess r i sk of 8 per 100 bathers. A l so, t h e aler t and acti on lim its have been rounded fro m 273 and 410 E. coli pe r 100 m L t o 260 and 550 E. co li per 100 mL

.
B a ck gr oun d t

o t h e ch an ges Once agai n, t h e previ ous gui d elines were not ba sed on an explicit adoption of an ‘acceptable illness ri sk ’ of 8 pe r 1 0 0 bat h ers

. Th e reas oni ng wa s en tirely similarto th at g i ven ab ov e fo r m a rine waters, in which 200 faecal c o liform s per 100 m L
was fo u n d t o b e eq ui val e nt t o 12 6 E. c o li pe r 100 m L . That is, the ‘acce ptable’ illness risks
were n o t c hose n a pri o ri bu t w e r e cal c ulat e d , once it was d ecid e d th at risks co rresp ond ing t o the pre v ious c r iteri a (200 faecal c o liform s per 100 m L , as a geom etric mean) s h ould be a d opted. In contrast, the s e ne w guidelines ar e base d on an explicit choice of accepta ble risks.



### Implementation issues

Cha n ge in samp ling depth The provi si onal gui deli nes (Departm ent of Healt h 1992 ) requi red sam p l i ng at ad ul t chest dept h, t h e reason bei ng t h at t h i s was t h e sam p l i ng dept h used by

t

h e t w o st udi es on whi c h t h e gui del i n es were based (C abelli 1983a; Duf our 1984 ). Thi s has now been changed t o sam p li ng at 0

. 5 m

. Thi s was part ly dri v en by a concern expressed by so m e New Zealand sam p l i ng t e am s about t h e safety of
sam p l i ng i n New Zeal and’s high-energy coast a l wat e rs. B u t it was al so done in t h e li ght of ot her st

udi es. C ont r o l l e d-cohort studi es i n t

h e U K have shown very cl earl y t h at swimm i ng-associ at ed il ln ess r i sk s are rela ted to wa te r q u a lit y me asu r ed at and o n l y

at

t

h e swim m i ng l o cat i on (Fl e i s her, Jones, Kay , Stanwell -Sm i t h

et

al 1993; Kay et

al 1994).
Th e 19 98 gu idelin es advo cat ed sam p l i ng at 0

. 5 m

. Thi s c o n s i d ere dc h i l d re n, w h o use s h al l o we r- dept h water andm a y b e m o re su scep tib le to illn ess th an adults, and t h at adults are als o exposed to sh allower water. Th e techn i cal j u stificatio n for th e ch ang e i n sam p lin g d e p t h is as fo llo ws. In the Ne w Ze aland study, ba thers we re e x pose d to
a vari et y of de pt hs

. Wat e r sa m p l e s were t a k e n at bot h c h est an d knee de pth s

. Usi n g a m e di an of 35/ 10 0 m L an d t a ki n g i n t o c o nsi d e r at i o nb o t h g a stro in testin al and resp i r ato r y illn esses (n o t
co nsid er edi n stu d i es on w h ich th e 199 2 p r ov isio n a l gu id elin es were based ) , th e m a x i m u m l e vel o f ri s k t o swi m m e rs at a dept h of 0

. 5 m (p revi ou sl y ap pl i e d t o ch est depth) rem a ined at 19/ 10 0 0

. T h er efo r e th e ri s k l e vel o f 1 9 / 1 00 0 rel a t e s t o t h e nu m b er ( 35/ 10 0 m L ) of i ndi cat or bact eri am easured at

any gi ve n dept h.
Ho we ver , c onc entr at i o ns of i n di cat or bact e r i aat 0

. 5 m ar e n e ar l y alw a ys fo und to b e m o r e th an at ch est d e p t h (andco nsid erab ly m o re th an wat e r beyond brea king wa ves )

. In fact the Ne w Z ealand stu d y f oun d that, on av er ag e, th e v a l u es f oundat chest dept h we re a b o u t 50% l o we r t h ant h os e f oun d at 0.5 m

. Sing l e cat e gory fo r ba thi n g a r eas Th e p r ov ision a l g u i d e lin es fo llo wedth e USEPA (1 9 8 6 b ) in usi n g fo ur se parate catego r ies fo r m a xim u m l i m i t s fo r i ndi cat o r bacteria. T h es e four cat ego r i e s c o r r e sp on d t o f o ur l e vel s o f beac h usa g e (i nf re que nt use , l i ght use , m oderat e use an d designated bat h ing beache s ). This was base d on th e n o t i o n of m i nim i si ng comm uni ty ri sk rat h er th an o f m i nim i si ng i n di vi d u al ri sk , a fact o r o f t e n criticised(Flei s h e r 199 1). The adj u stm e n t o f th e li mits to on e categ o ry of u s e is b a sed on th e pri n ciple that t h e level of ris k at a bea c h is in d e p e nd en t o f its po pu larity.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I18Di ffer ence be twe e n faec al s t r e ptoc occi and
e n t ero co cc i The faeca l s t re ptococcus group consists of a num ber of speci es of t h e genus St rept o c occus , such as S. f a ecal i s, S. faeci um, S. avi u m, S. bovi s , S. equi nus and S. gal l i narum. They have all been iso l a t e d from t h e faeces of war m -bl ooded anim al s, and S. avi u m and S. gal l i narum o ccu r in p o u ltry. S. bovis and S. equi nus are resi dents of t h e bovi ne and equ i ne i n t e sti n al t r act s and, al t hough det e ct able i n t h ei r faeces, do not s u rvive well outside the anima l host and di e off rapi dl y once exposed t o aquat i c environments. The faeca l s t re ptococci have b een used in m a n y

of the European, UK and Australian st

udi es of water pol l ut i on. The enterococcus group is a subgroup of the faecal st

rept ococci t h at i n cl udes S

. f

a eca lis, S

. fa ec i u m, S. gal l i narum and S. avi u m. Procedures for the iso l a t io n an d id en tif ica t io n o f th e en tero co ccu s grou p from aquati c envi ron m ent s have been wel l val i d at ed as i d ent i f yi ng t h is group as a val u abl e indica tor for deter m in ing the e x tent of faeca l cont am i n at i on of recreati onal m a r i ne waters. Studies a t mar i ne and freshwa ter bath ing beaches have i ndi cat e d t h at sw imm i ng -associ at ed g a stro en ter i t i s an d resp irato r y il ln ess can b e rela ted di rectly t o t h e qual ity of t h e bathi ng wat e r, and t h at enterococc i are the m o s t ef f i c i en t b a c t eri a l in d i ca to r for m a rine water quality ( C ab elli, Dufour, et al 1983; Du four 1 984; M c B r i d e, Salm ond et al 1998). The enterococc i have been used predom i n an t l y i n A m erican st udi es of wat e r pol lut i on, but al so in Europe. St udi es i n New Zeal and usi ng ent e rococci as the indica tor of choice for m

the basis of the current recreat i onal wat e r-quali ty gui deli nes f o r t h e m a r i ne envi ronm en t

.
U r ban and rura l run-o f f
Ru r a l an d urb an r u n - of f can co n t ain bo th human and anim al faeces. The catc h ment type will reflect th e lik ely pr opo r tion s of eac h. Anim als can carry pat h oge ns th at m a y be passe d ont o h u m a ns (zo o nose s ) suc h as Gi ardi a , Sa lmo n e lla , Campylobacter, C r y

p to sp o r id i u m (D on ni s o n an d R o ss 19 9 9 ) an d ver o t o xi c E. co li ( E. co li 015 7 ). I n ti m e s o f h i g h rain fall th e p a tho g e n s presen t in anim a l faeces can be tran s f erred into waterways via storm w ater drains or ove rland fl ow. The res u lts of s o m e studies (C alderon et al 1991, as in terp reted b y McBrid e 199 3 ; McB r id e, Sal m o n d et al 1 998 ) ind i cate th at illn ess risks pos ed by an imal vers us hum a n faecal m a terial sho u l d be c ons i d ere dt o be eq ui val e nt , al th o u g h th e first Hon g Kong stud y resu lts are less clear (C he un g et al 1 9 9 0 )

. For urban catchmen t s, a t leas t, indica tors at be aches coul d be el evated by i n fl ow (wrong c onnect ions) and i n fi lt rati on of st or m

w ater int o t h e sewer sy stem , l ead i ng t o sewer overfl ows wh i c h t h en cont am i n ate stor m

w a t er con duits (str ea ms, channels, direc t pipes, etc). These conta m ina t ion events are probabl y dependent on rai n i n tensi t y

and m ay be able to be quantif ied. Also, an ima l faec al ma tter, soi l and vegetati ve i ndi cat o r i nput s and ot her undefi ned sour ces can contami n ate st or m

w ater i t sel f (wi t hout sewer overfl ow). Di r ectly l e aki ng sewers (ter m e d ‘exfiltr ation’) can occur in any weath e r, co n t rib utin g si g n i fican t l y to i n filtr at io n wh en it d o e s rai n or when gr ound wat e r l e vel s ri se. St orm w at er f r o m unret i c ul at ed (b ut not nece ssari l y ‘rural’) ar eas may contai n fa ecal indicators from direct s u rface run-off c ont aini ng anim al or bird faecal m a tter and ve getative i n puts, direct stock access to waterways, direct st orm w ater deli very to the coa s tal m a r i ne area , an d indirectly via strea m s, all o f wh ich are b e liev e dt o co n s titu te a risk to hum an healt h

. O n ly o n e stud y ( H aile et al 199 6) h a s b e en conducted i n waters im pact ed by di rect u r banr u n o f

f (storm d r ain s ). Th e rates o f illn esses p r esen ted
were si m i l a r t o th o s e of othe r st udi es c o nd uc t e d i n waters c o ntam inated with domestic sewage. H o w e v e r, Fer g u s on et al (1 996 ) fo undth at increase dle vels of faecal coli form s, faecal st rept oc occi , C l ost r i d i u m perf ri nge ns spo r es , Gi ar di a and C r yp to spo r id i u m occu rre d i n an ur ban estu ary af ter r a in f a ll. G i b s on et al 1 998 f oundth at

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I19com b ined se wer ove rfl ows c ont ributed i n creased Cryp to spo r id ium an d Gi ar di a in bo th dry an d (par t i c ul arl y ) wet weat her

. Dat af r om a st udy by Grohm ann et a l (1993) s u gge sts that storm w ater
was a so ur ce o f vi ru s c ont am inat i o ni n ri ve r and
co astal water syste m s. It is therefo r e v e ry lik ely that increa sed indicator le vels identified at a beach fo llowing rainfall are ind i catin g in creased pat h oge n l e vel s , an d i n crea se d ri sk. During t h e e p idem iological st udy i n New Ze al and (see b e low), insu fficien t q u e st io nn aires were filled
o u t imm e d i atel y fo llowing rain fall ev en ts b e cau se peo p l e were n o t swi m m i ng at those t i m e s. Howev e r, th e micro b i o l o g i cal an alyses were still conducted an d the data shows that indicat or l e vels go u p at t i m es of rai n fal l as a resul t of su bse que nt
ru n- o ff.
Th e o r ig in al c l ai m fro m Cab e l li was th a t ru ral p o i n t sources probab l y do not pose as great a ri sk as sources of hum an wast es. The advent of fi ndi ngs of Gi ardi a , Cryp to sp o r id iu m and C a mpyl obact e r , and th e rein terp ret a tio n o f th e Co nn ect icut ru ral swim m i ng-pon d st udy (M cB ride 1993 ), conf ounds t h i s . Furt her m ore, t h e 1995 N e w Zealand m ari ne beaches study (McBr i de , Salmond et al 1998) showed n o st atist i cal l y si gni ficant di fference between beach es with urban versus rural imp acts ; indeed, the illness risks a c tu a lly measured for those two im p acts were very sim ilar.

I llne s s: ind i cato r re la t i ons h ip s M a ny m o re st udi es have been conduct e d for m a r i ne waters than for freshwaters. For m a rine waters the i ndi cat o r of choi ce has usual l y been faecal st

rept ococci (especi al ly i n t

h e UK, Euro pe and Australia) and its subset, enter o cocci (espec ia lly in the US and New Zealand). For freshwaters, E. coli i s usually t

h e i ndi cat o r of choi ce. Th e essen tial id ea b e h i n d th e u s e o f b acterial faecal indicators is t h at they may best repre s ent
ove ral l pa thogen i city o f th e water, as th ey may b e well correlated to so m e p a th og ens b u t po orly
cor r el at ed t o others (e .g

. pr ot o z oa an d vi ruse s). Th is lack of correlatio n has been sho w n i n man y stu d i es (e.g . Ellio tt an dC o lwell 1 9 8 5 ; Grabo w et al 1989; Ashbolt et al 19 93 ; Fergu s on et al 1996). It m u st always be reme m b ered that only a portion of t h e pathoge ns are ever m easured, and
som e (e.g. N o r w al k

- l i k e vi r u s e s) cann ot be
enum erated routinely.
Bo th t h e co n t ro lledan d un con tro lledco hort approaches ha ve ide n tified si gni ficant (i n t h e statistical and s o cial sense s of that word) in creasing relatio n s h i p s b e t w een th e risk o f illn ess to swimm e rs in water c o ntaining faecal resi due s an d th e con c entratio n o f on e or m o re b acterial faecal indicators. While m a ny of the illnesscausi n g or gani sm s are not ba ct eri a l (e. g

. vi r u ses and p r ot oz oan cy st s) an d m a y n o t be wel l correlated t o the bacteria l i n di cat or( s ), th e ge neral fo rm of th i s rel a t i ons hi p i s f o un d am on g m a ny st

udi es (as re vi ewed rece nt l y by Pr üss 1 9 9 8 )

. S y mp t o ms a r e r e p o r t edt o inc r ease with inc r eased exp o s u re to wa ter an d t o ae ros o ls (s p r ay f r om b r eak i ng w a v e s)

. Stud ies h a ve in cr easi n g l y f oun d si gni fi cant rel a t i ons hi ps betw een respi r at ory illn ess risk and a b acterial in dicato r (Balarajan et al 1 989 ; Ch eun g et al 1 990 ; Few t r e ll et al 1992 ; Corbett et al 1993; Fleis h er, Kay, Salm on e t al 19 9 6 ; M c B r i d e , Sal m ond et al 1 9 9 8 ) , as wel l as g a stro in testin al illn ess. Sk i n rash , andeye andear co m p lain ts seem to b e related m o re to th e presen ce of

ot her bath e r s ( b athe r-t o - bath er tr an sm i ssi o n occurs ) than t o de gree of faec al contam ination.
Ch ild ren m a y b e m o re su scep tib le to illn ess th an adu lts, alth ough th ey do tend to sw im in w a t e r s that are s h allower and ar e he nce m o re polluted.

Inte rpre ti ng hum a n he al th ri sk
In vest i g at i o ns on th e p o ssi bl e rel a t i ons hi p b e tw een water c o ntamination and humanhealth ris k (e. g

. of swim m e rs) ha v e to acc ou nt fo r vario u s
u n c ertain ties. Th ese arise b e cau se we on ly h a v e a sm al l num ber of sam p l e s fr o m whi c h t o characte r ise the de gree of c o nta m ination of t h e wat e r t h e s w i m m e rs use , an d we have heal t h st at us

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
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### I20in fo r m atio n fr om o n l y a tin y par t of th e who l e p opu latio n of sw immer s

. 25 I f w e took t h e
meas ure d rel a t i ons hi p t o be t h e tru e r e lationsh i p, th ese u n c ertainties wou l d b e ig nored and ou r rel a t i ons hi p w oul d have a hi g h c h ance o f bei n g i n co rrect

. St at i s t i cal m e t hods al l o w us t o acc ou nt for th ese u n c ertain ties.
It is trad itio n a l to use ‘nu ll h y p o t h e sis tests’ to account for uncertainties. T h ese test the h ypo th esis t h at th ere is no a s s o ci at i on bet w e e n th e in d i cator co n c en tration an d the swimm e rs’ risk o f illn ess. 26 If t h e a ssociation (m easure d by a correlation coe fficient or by a re gressi on coefficient) i n dicated by t h e data is in s o m e sense str o n g enou gh ,2 7 one co ncl u des th at th e nul l h ypo th esis shou ldb e re jected and that a ‘st a t i s t i cal ly si gni fi cant ’ res u l t has bee n f o un d. I n th is case, t h e tru e asso ciation is esti m a tedb y th at f oun d in t h e sam p le d a ta. The lev e l of un cer t ain ty in th is estim ate is ind i cated b y an i n terv al (u su ally th e 95 % con f i d en ce in terv al ) with in wh ich we
m i ght us ual l y expect t

h e u n d e rl y i ng t r ue val u e t o lie, 9 5 % o f t

h e ti m e

. O n th e o t h e r han d , f a ilin g t o r e j ect t h e h ypoth e sis si m p ly m ean s th at th e ob serv ed d a ta is n o t in con s isten t with th e nu ll h y po th esis. It do es no t
mean th at we can reg ard th e nu ll h ypo th esis as b e ing tru e , i.e. th at th ere is no association at all. There m a y well be an ass o ciat ion, but our sa m p le d a ta is h e ldt o b e insufficien t to reliab l y infer eith er th is or its m a g n itu d e

. Th is can b e eit h er because the r e i s too m u ch variability in the data, or th at in su fficient d a ta was co llectedg i v e n its d e gree o f

v ariab ility. In creasing t h e size o f th e samp le d a ta set m a y id en tify an asso ciatio n – un less th e
v a riab ility co n tin u e s.

25 A s well as some no n- swimmers, who are used as contro ls, it is the difference in illness risk between swi mmers and non-sw immers that we are interested i n

. 26 That is, one posits a ‘ null’ hy

pothesis – that the correlation is exactly zero.

27

The computed p
- v alue would be less than half of the a priori

significance level (usually denoted by α ). Th e p
- v alue is the probability of getting a correlation at least as extreme as has been obtained, if the nul l hypothesis were true. A cau tion a r y no te : the fo rm of w o rds u s ed b y so m e au th ors t o in terpret a n e g a tiv e resu lt for a
n u ll h ypo th esis test can b e am b i gu ou s (McBrid e , Lo f tis et al 19 93 ). For ex am p l e, in r e po r t i n g on a stu d y o f b a t h ers’ illn ess risks in a freshwater po nd contam inated by anim a l faecal m a terial (Calderon et al 1 991 ), a nu ll h ypo th esis test (on l y ju st) failed to reach ‘statistical sig n i ficanc e’. This led t h e authors to state that th e r e was “no ass o ciation” betwee n swimmers’ illness risk an d an im a l faecal cont am i n at i on. Th is co n c l u sion h a d qu ite dr amatic co n s equen ces because it was thought to s upport the idea t h at b a th ers’ illn ess risk s fro m expo sure t o an im a l faecal resi due s are m u ch l o we r than for e x posure to hum a n faeca l residues, and perha p s did not even
ex ist (as is im p liedb y th e p h rase “no asso ciatio n ” ). B u t i f

m o re s w im m e rs ha d be en i n cl ude d i t i s entirely plausible that t h e test res u lt woul d have been statistically significant ( M cBride, L o ftis, et al 1 993 ). 28
In fact th e m e a s u r ed relatio n s h i p was qu ite larg e, b u t t

h e d a ta’s variab ility an dli mitedsize m e a n t th at th e asso ciatednu ll h y p o t hesis test failed to attain statistica l sig n i fican ce. In o t h e r wo rd s, failu re t o attain statistical sig n i fican ce d o e s no t
n ecessarily i m p l y th at th e rel a tio n s h i p testedlacks pra c t i c al significance. The ac tu al resu lts fo un d
can be use d , w i th res u l t s f r om othe r st udi es , i n
som e ki nd o f m e t a -anal y si s. 29

28 Technically, the ‘p ower of the te st’ in creases with the number of data used, making it more likely that a null hypothesis will be rejected.

29 Meta- analysis refers to pooling d a ta f r om a number of studies to reanalyse the relationship.

APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
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### I21APPE NDI X 2 : DEVEL O PI NG THE GUI D ELI NES
. June 2003 

### I22

# Appendix 3: Signs Temporary health w a r n ing sign
These signs s h oul d be e r ected at entran ces to sites
as soon as po ssib le fo llo wi n g co n t am in atio n event s

. Di m e nsi ons f o r

th ese si gns m a y vary , b u t they should be clearly visible from site access poi nt s.

AP PE N D I X 3 : SI GN S
. June 2003 

### I23

### Permanent health w a r n ing sign
These signs s h oul d be e r ected at sites where faecal material is k nown to b e con t amin atin g th e water on
an o ngo ing b a sis. Gen e rally th ese sites will eith er
n o t b e grad ed , o r will b e gradedas Very Po or an d are th erefo r e un lik ely to b e m o n itoredregu larly
u n til im p r o v e men t s are m a d e

. Di m e nsi ons fo r t h ese si g n s m a y vary , b u t t h ey shoul d be clearly visible at all tim e s.

AP PE N D I X 3 : SI GN S
. June 2003 

### I24

# Appendix 4: Case Study – Implementing the Marine and Freshwater Guidelines Jacobs Estuary, Sout hland
En vi ro nm ent Sout hl an d c o -ordinates recreati onal water-qu ality m o n ito rin g in t h e Sou th l and reg i on

. Th e f o llow i ng case stud y fo cu ses on o n e of 13 m a ri ne recr eat i onal si t e s m oni t o red i n t h e regi on , det a i l s th e p r ocess fo r devel opi ng a g r ade for th e site, and d e fi n e s th e resu ltin g surv eillan ce
m o n ito r i n g r e gi m e an d r e sponses.

M i cro b i o l ogica l A s s e ss me nt Ca tego ry (MAC)
Jaco bs Est u ary has bee n m oni t o re d f o r at l e a s t fi ve years, so t h ere is su fficien t d a ta to g e n e rate a MAC. Using t h e Hazen m e thod rec o mm ended in th e gu id eli n es, th e 95 th p e rcen tile for th is site is 99 . R e peat or fol l o w- u p sam p l e s are n o t i n c l ude d wh en calcu latin g th e M A C.
Referri ng to t h e Microbiologi cal Assessm ent C a t e gory De fi ni t i ons th e M A C fo r Jac o bs E s t u ary is B.

S a ni tar y In sp ec ti on Cate gory Th e fo llowing tab l e presen ts th e find ing s after work i n g throug h th e Catch m en t Assessm en t Checklist an d th e resu lting San itary In sp ectio n C a t e gory

.

A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
. June 2003 

### I25Table I 1 : Example of c o mpl e ted Catchme n t Assess ment Chec klist
Site name Jacobs Estuary Map ref er en ce D46:260168 Typ e o f s i te (op e n coas t/es tu ari n e/en clos ed b a y) Es tu ary Is the BEACH water quality aff ected b y : Microbial hazards 1 direct disch a rge of se wage or animal wastes N 2 s t orm w ater con t am inated b y s e w a ge N 3 urban stormwater protec ted from sewage ingr ess Y 4 private sewag e d i sposal s y stems discharge N 5 c o mme rc i a l se wa ge di sposa l with 1 o or 2 o tr ea tm ent N 6 c o mme rc i a l se wa ge di sposa l with 3 o tr ea tm ent N 7 agricu ltural use and potenti al for direct run-off Y 8 dense bird life near th e b e ach Y 9 rivers or s t ream s near th e b each Y 10 water craf t moor ing or use of area N Are RIVERS INFLUENCING T H

E BEACH af f

ected b y : 11 discharges of human or an imal ef fluent to river N 12 urban stormwater contaminated b y s e wage N 13 intensity of agri c u lture im pact ing rivers High 14 dense for e st or b u sh (feral an imals) N Othe r influe nc es 15 Doe s wa t e r qua lity c h a nge wi t h curre nt s, t i d e or wi nd? N 16 Does rainf a ll tri gger con t am ina t i o n ? Y 17 Does m i crobial water d a t a ever e x ceed guid e lin es ? Y 18 Have i llnesses b een no tifi e d fro mthis ar ea ? N L a nd use Land cover Forest/pasture /ur b a n U r b a n Swamps/streams/ d u n e s S t r e a m Hill y/fl at Hill y Urban land use Ty p e of urban surrounds (residential, commercial, harbour, etc) R, C, H Estimate population density (No. per km 2 ) 75 (excluding Aparima) Landfills pres ent N Disposal of human waste N past illeg a l ov erflows Rural land use Ty p e of agr i culture (sheep, dair y, beef, hor ses, pigs, deer, poultr y , feral) D, S, B Dis pos al of ani m a l was t e (dair y ? ) Y via Ap arim a Additional information Length of b a thin g area (m) 200 Length of b each (m ) – Dis t ance fromn eares t s t re am(k m ) 2 Subject to se aso n al loading of po llution N Direct ion of pre v ailing wat e r cur r ents Tide P r es ence o f s u rf N Annual rainfall ( mm) 1120

A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
. June 2003 

### I26Th e p r im ary sou r ce of p o t en tial co n t am in an ts to th e b a t h ing site in Jacob s Est u ary is th e Ap ari m a Riv e r. Th e landad jo in i n g th e Ap arim a Riv e r h a s m o d e rately in ten s iv e agricu lt u r e with an in creasing
am ount o f dai r y farm i ng i n t h e cat chm e nt

. Thi s corres ponds to a ‘m oderate’ ri sk. Storm w ater drai ns e n ter Ja cobs Est u ary, but these are dis t ant fr om t h e bat h i n g si t e s an d we re not c o nsi d e r ed t o be si gni fi cant i n fl uences

. A s e wage o v e rfl o w was d i scov er ed on t h e w e stern si de of Jaco bs Est u ary i n 2 0 0 1 , but t

h i s di d not a

p pear t o i n fl uenc e m oni t o ri ng res u l t s an d has si n ce bee n rect i f i e d.
The Re gional Council confi r med its catchment

assess me nt of t h e site with th e relev an t territo rial local aut h ority and the Me di c a l Officer of Health. Th e resu ltin g San itary In sp ectio n Categ o ry (m oderate) wa s re fere nced f

r o m the Sanitar y In sp ection Fl owch art.
Suitability for R e creat i on Grade
Th e su itab ility for recreation o f th is m a rin e b a th ing water site was d e term in ed b y in teg r ating t h e site’s San itary In sp ectio n Category with t h e site’s Microbial Asse ssm ent Category accordi n g to the Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e m a trix . Th e resu lting g r ad e fo r t h is site is G ood

. Th e factors that co n t ribu tedt o th e SFRG fo r th is si t e can be s u m m a ri sed as fol l ows

.

Site ID 13 Site n a m e J acobs Es tuar y Map ref e rence D46:260 168 SIC Moderate MAC B (95 per cen tile = 99) SFRG Good Monitoring fr eq uency W eekl y 

### Boyes Beac h, Bay of Plenty
En vi ro nm ent B a y of Pl enty m oni t o rs m a ri ne and fres h water recreational area s t h roughout t h e Bay of Plen ty r e g i on

. Th is case study ex am in es a fresh water site g r ad edu s ing t h ese gu id elin es, includi ng how each c o m pone nt is asses s ed an d b r ou gh t tog e ther to ach iev e an o v e rall grade fo r t h e site.

M i cro b i o l ogica l A s s e ss me nt Ca tego ry (MAC) Boyes Beach has bee n m onitored for two year s, gi vi n g i n s u f f i c i e nt dat at o ge n e rat e a fi nal gr ade. Howev e r, th ere is sufficien t data to g e n e rate an in terim g r ad e. An in terim g r ad e is u s ed p r imarily fo r m a nagem e nt p u r p o ses an d m u st be revi e w ed
an nu ally as n e w d a ta b e co m e s av ailab l e, un t il fiv e years’ data has bee n c o llected.
Th e 95 th p e rcen tile for th is site, g e n e rated u s in g the Haze n Met h od is 207

. Therefore the res u lting M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory i s B

.
S a ni tar y In sp ec ti on Cate gory The res u lts of t h e catchm e nt a ssessm ent are
su mm arisedin th e fo llowing t ab l e.

A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
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### I27Table I 2 : Example of a c o m p leted Catchment Asses s m e nt Checklis t
Site name Boy e s Beach Map ref er en ce U16:0380-3240 Typ e o f s i te (la k e / riv er / s t r e a m) Lak e Is the BEACH water quality aff ected b y : Microbiologica l hazard s 1 direct disch a rge of se wage or animal wastes N 2 s t orm w ater con t am inated b y s e w a ge N 3 urban stormwater protec ted from sewage ingr ess N 4 discharges f r om private se wa ge disposa l s y ste m s Y 5 communal sewage disposal with 1 o or 2 o tre a tm en t N 6 communal sewage disposal with 3 o tre a tm ent N 7 intensive agr i cu lture and po tential for run

- off of effluent N 8 focal points of d r ainag e as run-of f N 9 unrestricted sto c k access to water w ay s N 10 incid e nce and density of b i rdlif e Y 11 water craf t moor ing or use N 12 potential for run

- off from fer a l animals Y Are riv e rs, stre ams or drains in fluencing thesiteaffec t ed

by: 13 discharges of 1 o or 2 o tr eated human efflu e nt Y 14 stormwater outlets with po te ntial sewage c o n t a m i n a t i o n N 15 communal sewage disposal with 3 o tre a tm ent N 16 high intensity ag riculture, fer a l animal/bird populations N 17 focal points of d r ainag e from lo w intensity land use N 18 potential for run

- off from fer a l animals Y Othe r influe nc es 15 Doe s wa t e r qua lity c h a nge wi t h curre nt s, t i d e or wi nd? N 16 Does rainf a ll tri gger con t am ina t i o n ? Y 17 Does m i crobial water d a t a ever e x ceed guid e lin es ? Y 18 Have i llnesses b een no tifi e d fro mthis ar ea ? Y L a nd use Land cover Forest/pasture /ur b an F, P Wetlands/streams/dunes W, S Hill y/fl at H Urban land use Ty p e of urban surrounds (residentia l, commercial, harbour, etc.) R Estimate population density (no

. per km 2 ) 1 0 0 0 Landfills pres ent N Disposal of human waste Y – septic tanks Rural land use Ty p e of agr i culture (sheep, dair y, beef, hor ses, pigs, deer, poultr y , feral) S, D, B Dis pos al of ani m a l was t e (dair y ? ) N Additional information Length of b a thin g area (m) 400 Length of b each (m ) 20 Dis t ance fromn eares t s t re am(k m ) 10 m e tres Subject to se aso n al loading of po llution Y Direct ion of pre v ailing wat e r/wi nds W / SW Shoreline config uration / g e omorpholog y / erosio n gullies Flat – sand y b e ach Annual rainfall ( mm) 1250 mm

A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
. June 2003 

### I28The pri m ary so urce o f pot en tial co n t am in ati o n fo r Boyes Beach is septic tank s. In addition to t h e resid e n tial on -site d i spo s al syste m s th ere is a to ilet bl oc k t o th e re ar of t h e beac h , w h i c h i s anot her
source of faeca l contam inati on, particularly during the holiday sea s on whe n t h e ar ea e xpe rience s seaso n al p o pul at i on gr o w t h

. The land surrounding B o ye s Beach is a m i xture of lo w-d e n s ity urb a n andl o w-inten s ity ag ricu ltu re, i n cl udi ng b eef, dee r an d shee p. St oc k ha ve unrestricted ac cess to wa terways th at d i sch arg e ont o t h e bea c h , al th o u g h t h ese are not considered sig n i fican t im p acts du e to low sto c k d e n s ities. Th ere is also so m e fo rest area aro undth e lak e with th e po ten tial for run

- o f f fro m feral an im als. Ho we ver , th i s was al s o not c o nsi d e r ed a significant s o urce of faecal c o ntamination. Using t h e San i tary Insp ection Flow C h art for Fresh w ater Sit e s, th e San itary In sp ection Cat e g o ry (SIC ) for B o yes Beach is Ver y High

. 

### Suitability for Recreation Grade
Th e Su itab ility fo r Recreation Grad e (SFRG) fo r th is site is d e term in edb y in teg r ating t h e site’s Sani t a ry I n s p e c t i on C a t e g o ry an d M i cr obi ol ogi cal Assessm ent Category accord i n g to t h e Suita bility for Recreati o n Gra d e Matri x for Fres hwater. The
resu lting g r ad e fo r t h is site is Fo llo w Up. Th is is due to t h e disa greem ent between the MAC an d the SIC.
In vest i g at i o n o f bot h t h e M A C an d S I C i s recomm ended. T h e gra d e for this site is also i n t e ri m as th ere are fewe r t h an 10 0 dat a poi nt s an d less th an fi v e y ears’ d a ta. Th i s is lik ely to b e th e cause of the di sagreem ent bet w een the M A C and the SIC also.
Facto r s th at con tribu ted to t h e SFRG fo r th is site
can be s u mm ar ised as follows

.

Site n a m e Bo y e s Beach Map ref e rence U16:0380-3240 SIC Very High MAC B (95 per cen tile = 207) SFRG Follow Up (Inte r i m ) Recommendatio n Continue to m o n itor we ekl y during peak usage until f i ve ye ars ’ d a ta has b een coll ec ted and an SFRG can be assigned.

A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
. June 2003 

### I29A P P E ND IX 4: C A S E S T UD Y – I M P L EMENTI NG THE M A RINE AND FRE S H W ATE R GUI D EL INE S
. June 2003 

### I30

# Appendix 5: Fact Sheets Int h i s a ppe n d i x we have p r ov i d ed a seri es o f fact sh eets ab ou t recreatio n a l water-q u a lity m o n ito ri n g

. Please feel free to photoc opy and distri bute these t o any one want i ng m o re i n f o r

m at i on ab o u t th i s issue.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I31

## Beach e s a nd riv ers are impo rtant Every wee k en d th o u sands o f peo p l e fl oc k t o beache s , la kes and ri vers around the c o unt ry and t a ke th e pl un ge . T h e nu m b ers soar du ri n g t h e su mm er h o lid ays. Wh et h e r it is swimmin g , di vi n g , s u r f i n g or sai l i ng, w h e n th e s u nshi n e s Kiwis hea dfor the beach.

A part of Ne w Z e al and cul t ure Th e Hillary Commiss io n ’ s 199 1 Life in New Zeala n d Su rve y lo ok ed at recreatio n a l water u s e and found t h at in the 15–18-y ear a g e groups: 28 % had bee n swi m m i ng i n t h e past f

o ur weeks •

•

•

• 31 % had bee n t o th e beac h i n th e pa st f

o u r weeks 23 % of m a l e s and 8 % of fem a l e s ha d been eith er su rfing or wi ndsu rfing in th e p a st four weeks 2 0 % h a d b e en in vo lv edin water-b ased leisu r e o r

activ ities in th e p a st fo ur week s. Th is represen ts on ly a sm all sl ice o f New Zealan d’ s po pu latio n bu t is a str ong ind i cat o r of how our beac hes are a signifi cant part of Ki wi
cu ltu re.

Most ly clea n, b u t ... New Zealand’s ‘clean gree n i m age’ e x tends to our oceans, la kes an d ri vers . T h e perce p tion m a ny of
u s h a v e th a t our co a s ts an d fr es h w a t er s ar e some o f the cleanest i n the world is we ll founde d. We do n ’ t ha ve t h e severi ty o f pr o b l e m s faci ng n a t i ons suc h as t h e Uni t ed Ki ngdom or the U S

. But we do have s o m e pro b l e m s

. Som e of our storm w ater and sewera ge system s are ap pro ach i n g 10 0 year s o l d. Co m b in edsewer a g e and st o r m w at er pi pes can so m e t i m e s pum p unt reat ed h u m a n e ffl ue nt i n t o l a kes, ri ve rs an d th e sea, es pecially in urban areas

. Storm w ater (urban run-off) c o llects waste fr om streets, lawns and p a rk s and d e posits it in waterways. Th is run

- o f f oft e n c ont ai n s ani m al wast e. R u n - o f f f

r om farm land ( r u r al r u n - o f f ) c o llects waste fr om farm
an im a l s, wh ich also end s up in riv e rs an d finally in the sea or lakes

. Anim al and hum an wa ste contains diseas e-causi ng organism s that m a y su rv iv e in t h e mar i n e env i ronmen t, po sing a r i sk t o hum an healt h

.
What is bei n g done abo u t i t ? Councils m onitor wate r quality according t o gui del i n es de v e l ope d by t h e Heal t h an d En vi ro nm ent M i ni st ri es. T h e p u r p ose of
m o n ito rin g is t o id en tify risk s to p u b lic health fr om di sease-c ausi n g or gani s m s, and t o i n f o rm th e p u b lic of t h ese risk s. Th is i n fo rm atio n allo ws p e op le to m a k e in fo rm ed deci sions about where, whe n an d ho w th ey use th e a q uat i c en vi r onm ent for recreation a l activ ities.
Asid e fro m m o n ito ri n g water q u a lity, m a n y councils have long-term pl ans in place to dea l with ageing se wera ge an d storm w ater system s and carry out r out i n e i n s p ect i o n s of t h e s e sy st em s. R e gul ar in sp ection en su res th e system s are m a in tai n ed to as high a standard as possi ble s o that the waters receiving t h e discharge m eet acceptable heal th criteria. B u t it is i m p o r tan t to realise th ere h a s always b e en a h ealth risk wh ile in con t act with waters t h at rec e ive sto r m w ater, ru ral r u n- of f and
sewa ge.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
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### I32

## Health impacts of contaminated recreational w a ter
There are a num b er of di seas e-causi ng bugs (called pat h oge ns ) th at o n ce di scharg ed i n t o th e m a ri ne and fres hwater environm en ts can su rv iv e fo r so m e tim e . Every ti me we com e into contact wit h waters t h at ha ve bee n c ontam inated with human and anim al faeces, we e x pose oursel ves t o these bu gs an d ri sk g e t t i ng si ck

. Pri s tine waters are
u n lik ely to p r esen t a h ealth ri sk fro m th ese pat h oge ns

.
W h at does ‘ r is k’ mean?
Th e risk is of gettin g sick wh en swimmin g , su rfing
or

ot her w i s e b e i ng e x po sed t o fres h w a t e r or seawater. T h e gui delines t h at New Zealand
cou n ci l s use ar e base d o n fi xe d l e vel s o f ri sk , wh ich in turn are b a sed on overseas gu id elines (w hi ch ha ve be en c o n f i r m e d b y New Zeal an d stu d i es). Ov erseas inv e stig atio n s hav e settled o na maxim u m acceptable le vel of risk for m a rine
w a ter s of 1 9 in ev ery 100 0 b a th er s con t r actin g an illn ess. For fresh w aters t h e accep tedlev e l o f risk is 8 i n ev ery 10 00 b a th er s con tracting an illn ess.
E v en w h en b e ac h e s andr i v e r s me e t th e gu id elin e s th ere will still b e a h ealth risk asso ciated wit h recreation a l act iv ities in th e sea. Becau s e scien tists are no t d i rectly m e a s u r i n g th e p a tho g e n s , it is n o t po ssib l e to say t h ere i s zero risk t o pu b lic h ealth , esp ecially wh ere th ere ar e kn own inpu ts o f hum an and an i m al faeces.
If teste d waters excee d the acc eptable le vel of ris k , th e pub lic is adv i sed th at th e area is u n su itab l e fo r recreation a l act iv ities.

What does ‘ill nes s ’ re fe r to?
Illn esses relatedto con t act with recreation a l waters were in itially t h oug h t t o b e co nfin edt o g a stro in testin al illn ess su ch as salm o n e llo sis. M o re rece ntly Gi ar di a , C a m p

yl ob act e r an d Cryp to spo r id ium have al so be en s h ow n t o ca use g a stro in testin al illn ess. Th ese p a thog ens cause diarrhoea an d s o m e tim es vomiting ass o ciated with ‘tummy bug’ s y m p to m s . Recent studies indi cate th at resp iratory illn esses, su ch as tho s e t h at cau s e co ldand flu

- li k e sym p to m s , can also resu lt fro m swi m m i ng i n s e wage -c ont am inat ed wat e r

. S k i n , eye and ear infections can als o be ca ught t h rough cont act wi t h m a ri ne an d f r es h wat e rs

. Illn esses relatedto tox i c su b s t a n ces

– su ch as h eav y m e tals o r PCBs

– are no t m easu r ab le with indicator bacteria and ar e not cove re d i nt h i s fact sheet.

Ris k f

a c t or s Storm w ater, an d treate dan d untreated sewa ge di scharge d di re ct l y i n t o o u r oc eans, ri ve rs an d l a kes, can c o nt ai n a vari et y o f m i cro- or gani sm s that can cause disease. T h ere f ore the r e m a y be a greater ris k of getting sick under certain
co nd itio ns, su ch as: two t o three d ays after rainfall •

•

• du ring fu ll immersio n i n water th at m a y b e contam inated with se wa ge or run-off h i gh ex po su re to sh allo w wat e r wh ere th ere m a y be hi g h e r conce n t r at i o ns of pat h o g e n s. There m a y als o be a great er risk to tho s e with
r e du cedimm u n ity, th e el d e r l y an d th e v e ry yo un g.

When do the guidelines no t a p pl y?
In m o st co mmu n ities th e efflu e n t produ ced will contain pat h ogens all year round, an d the gui del i n es c o u n ci l s use are de si gne d fo r use un de r su ch co nd itio ns. Howev e r, wh en th ere is an out brea k of a p o t e nt i a l l y wat e rb or ne di sease i n t h e comm unity, and whe r e t h at community’s sewage is d i sch arg ed directly in to or clo s e to recreatio n a l waters witho u t ad eq u a te t r eatmen t , th e gu idelin es that councils use are not s u itable. Unde r t h e s e circum stances an ar ea m a y be deem ed suitable for recreational us e base d on the indicator bacteria, whe n i n fact the levels of pat h oge ns are ele v ated to a point whe r e t h ere is an unac ceptable risk to pu bl i c heal t h

.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I33What ar e c o uncil s doi n g?
Co un cils arou ndth e coun try m o n ito r water q u a lity to m i n i mise th e risk to pu b lic h ealth . Th ey d o th is by m easuring the num ber of e n terococci (indicator b acteria) in ou r water. T h ey do not m easure pathoge ns dire ctly because t h e science t o do this
co st effectiv ely and reliab l y isn ’ t yet av ailab l e. In add itio n to measu r ing ind i cato r b acteria, councils look a t the area su rr o u n d i n g t h e bea c h or riv e r andi d en ti fy po ten tial sou r ces of cont am i n at i on. T h i s hel p s c o unci l s as sess t h e pot e n t i a l ri sk o f c ont am i n at i on, s o t h ey can ‘ g ra de’ recreation a l sites fo r th eir su it ab ility fo r recreational us e.

Where do I get m o re infor m a ti on? Co un cils m o n ito r water qu ality an d will h a v e detailed information on s p ecific beaches. There m a y be an 08 0 0 num ber t o cal l f o r t h i s in fo rm atio n

. •

•

•

• Local pape rs an d ra di o st at i o ns m a y al so p r ov id e i n fo rm atio n in th eir co mm u n ity b u lletin s. Sig n s at m o n ito red b each e s will h a v e d e tai l s ab ou t wh ere t o g e t m o re info rmatio n (0 800
n u m b e r, rad i o statio n s , etc.) an d will ind i cate if the beac h is sui t able for rec r ea tional use. So m e co un cil web s ites h a v e i n fo rm atio n ab ou t
m o n ito rin g prog ramm es lo call y
.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I34

## The w a ter-quality monitoring programme
R e gi o n al , ci ty and di stri ct c o unci l s ha ve be en m o n ito rin g wat e r q u a lity at b e ach es for m a n y years. The gui d elines no w us ed by t h e c o un ci l s are the Microbio l o g i ca l Wa ter Qu a lity Gu i d elin es fo r Ma rin e and Fresh w a t er Recrea tion a l Area s pu bl i s he d by t h e M i ni st ry fo r t h e E n vi ro nm ent an d th e M i ni stry of Heal th i n 20 0 2

. T h ese gui de l i n es ai m to estab lish n a tio n a l con s isten c y in recreation a l water qu ality an d p u b lic awaren ess of
w h en th e r e is a h e a lth r i s k

.
Whi c h be ac h e s are bei n g m o ni t o r e d ?
Th e cou n c ils decid e wh ich fresh water an d marin e sites th ey will m o n ito r b e fore th e b a th ing season begi ns. Ho w c o u n ci l s deci de th i s vari es f r o m r e g i o nto r e g i on

. Con t act your lo cal city or reg i o n a l cou n c il to find ou t wh ich sites in you r regi onare m o n i t o red

.
Wh en ar e be ache s m o ni tore d ? Beaches an d ri vers are m onitore d by the council on a week ly b a sis th ro ugh ou t th e b a th ing season. Th e bat h i n g seaso ni s ge neral l y f r o m 1 N ovem b er t o 3 1 Mar c h , alth ough th is m a y v a ry d e p e nd ing on th e local clim ate.

W h at do counc ils ‘do’ whe n they mo n i tor water quality?
Th ere are two p a rts t o th e co un cil’s m o n ito ri n g p r og ramm e. Firstly, an o v e rall g r ad e for th e site is
wo rk ed o u t bas e d on p r e v i o us y ears’ m oni t o ri ng results an d an assessm ent of pote n tial sourc e s of cont am i n at i on fr om th e sur r o un di n g ar ea. T h i s gra d e gi ves an i d ea o f t

h e gen e ral co n d i t i on of th e si t e onany gi v e n day

. In add itio n to t h e o v e rall grade, coun cils m o n ito r recreation a l waters on a week l y b a sis du ring t h e bathing season. Sam p les are collected from
m onitored sites and tested for bacteria that i n dicate whet her di seas e-causi ng m i cr o- or gani sm s, or pat h oge ns , are prese n t

. T h e c o u n ci l s use t h e ‘traffic ligh t ’ ap pro ach of th e g u i d e lin es t o decid e whet her the be aches an d ri vers are suitable for
s w immin g

. Surv e illa nce m o n ito rin g is carried ou t wh en lev e ls of indicator ba cteria are l o w. Sites in s u rvei llance
m ode are m onitore d weekly. The purpose of
su rv eillan ce m o n itoring is t o rou tin ely ch eck th at water qu ality i s at a lev e l t h at do esn ’ t p o se an unacce pta b le ri sk t o public he alth.
The alert or ‘amber’ lev e l acts as a tri g g e r fo r co un cils to co ll ect sam p les mo re frequ e n tly. Th e gui del i n es al s o rec o m m e nd t h at whe n i n t h i s m ode councils invest igate whethe r t h ere is a s o urc e of contam ination causing t h e hi g h er i n di cat or l e vel s at the be ach or river.
For m a ri ne wat e rs, w h ena sa m p l e t a ken d u r i ng eith er su rv eillan ce m o n ito ri n g or wh ile in alert
m ode excee ds the ac ti o n or ‘red’ m o de indicato r lev e l, a secon d sam p le is tak e n immed i ately. If th is also ex ceed s t h e action

- lev e l thresho l d t h e public are inform ed that the beach is not suit able fo r s w im m i ng.
Fo r fresh w ater, if a sam p le taken du ring eith er su rv eillan ce m o n itoring o r wh ile in alert m o d e exceeds the ac ti on or ‘red’ mode i n di cat or l e vel , a secon d sam p le is no t req u i red to confirm th e resu lt. Th is is du e to th e p o t en tial f o r gr eater p a thogen levels and t h eir survi v al in fresh water. Illn esses may ran g e from a sk in in fectio n , to a co l d , to g a stro in testin al d i sease. In actio n m o d e , samp lin g may in cr ease t o d a ily if th e cau s e is un know n. Th e gui delines s p ec ify that a catchment assessm e n t sho u l d be car ri ed out i n th e s u rr ou n d i n g catchm e nt. This involves the council checki n g the
sewera ge an d s t orm w ater syste m s for leaks , i llegal
con n ect i o ns an d othe r ca uses of co nt am i n at iono f the site. A cat chm e nt assessment can als o i n volve in v e stig ating fu rt h e r up th e catch m en t to iden tify
co n t am in atin g activ ities o r d i sch a rg es.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I35Ho w do I kno w if it i s O K to s w im?
C o u n ci l s ha ve com m uni cat i on strat e gi es as part of th eir m o n ito ri ng p r og ramm es to ensure th e pu b lic are inform ed of a health risk at a beac h or ri ver as soo n as pos si bl e. If y o u are c once r ned ab o u t wat e r q u a lity at b each e s o r ri v e rs in yo ur area, contact yo ur lo cal coun cil fo r m o r e i n fo r m atio n

.
Th e bugs
In Ne w Zealan d we ar e becoming inc r easingly aware of th e po ten tial h ea lth risks associate dwith swimmin g (and o th e r related activ ities) in marin e and f

r es h wat e rs. Al th o u g h t h i s pr obl em i s not a s sev e re as i n m a n y o t h e r coun tries, it is im p o r tan t th at we m a n a ge th e p r ob lem i n th e in terests o f pu bl i c heal t h

. Wh en m o n itorin g water q u a lity at New Zealan d beache s an d ri vers , water m a nage rs an d scie ntists are interested i n the nu m b er of disease-ca usi n g pathoge ns pres ent. It is im practical to m easu r e the pat h oge ns di re ct l y , so i n di cat or bact eri a are use dt o al ert wat e r m a nage rs t o po ssi bl e heal t h ri s k s prese n t e d by t h e pat h o g en s.

What ar e i n di cator bac t e r i a ? In th e case of t h e recreation a l water-qu ality gui del i n es, t h e i ndi cat o r b acteria are e n teroc o cci fo r m a rine wat e rs an d E. colifo r fres h w a ters

. Th ese b acteria o ccur n a turally in th e gu t o f hu m a n s and anim als, including m a mma ls , b i rd s, f i sh a n d rep tiles. Th e in d i cator b acteria th em selv es d o no t pos e a si gni ficant ris k to human health. Rather, they indicate t h e prese n ce of faecal m a terial, which cont ai n s di seas e-causi ng pat h oge ns

. It i s t h e num ber of ent e roc o cci or E. co li pe r 10 0 m L o f wat e r t h at i s m easure dan d onw h i c h t h e gui del i n e l e vel s are base d. What a r e pathog ens?
Pat h o g e n s ar e m i crosco pi c or gani sm s t h at c ause disease in humans an d an im a l s. T h e r e are many di ffe re nt ki nds

. S o m e of t h e m o re wi del y k n o w n are Camp ylob acter , Sa lmon ella , Gi ar di a , Cryp to spo r id ium , an d vi r u ses th at cause di arr hoea and col dan d fl u-like sym p tom s . These pathoge n s are prese n t in faeces and m a y enter our waterways th r o u g h unt reat ed se wa ge di schar g es, an d fr o m l eaky sewe rage pi pe s, se pt i c t a nk s, st orm w at er an d
ru ral r u n- of f.

When do the guidelines no t a p pl y?
In m o st co mmu n ities th e efflu e n t produ ced will contain pat h ogens all year round, an d the gui del i n es c o u n ci l s use are de si gne d fo r use un de r su ch co nd itio ns. Howev e r, wh en th ere is an out brea k of a p o t e nt i a l l y wat e rb or ne di sease i n t h e comm unity, and whe r e t h at community’s sewage is d i sch arg ed directly in to or clo s e to recreatio n a l waters witho u t ad eq u a te t r eatmen t , th e gu idelin es councils use ar e not s u itable. If t h e gui deline s are use d under the s e circum stances a beach or river
m a y be deem ed s u i t abl e f o r r ecreat i onal use base d on the i ndicat or bacteria, whe n in fact t h e le vels of pathoge ns are raised to a poi nt where there is an unacce pta b le ri sk t o public he alth.
Ind i cato r b a cteria tell u s abo u t th e lik eliho od of th ere b e ing p a t h og en s p r esen t in th e water. We do n ’ t use i n di cat or bact eria t o m easure the l i k el i hoo d o f t

h ere bei n g t o xi c co nt am i n ant s o r h a rm fu l po iso n s su ch as heavy m e tals, p o l yarom at i c carbo ns or PC B s

.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I36

## The sources of con t amination in wat e rs us ed fo r recreation
This fact sheet discuss e s the s o urces of bacteria and pat h oge n s in wate rs use dfor recreation t h at pos e a risk to hum a n and ani m al health.

Sew a ge Sewag e fro m man y co mm u n ities is co llected v i a a n e two r k o f p i pes and pu m p edto a cen tral facilit y, whe r e i t i s tr ea t e d be f o re bei n g di scharge dt o th e en v i ron m en t. Sewag e co nsists m o stly o f wat e r, but al s o c o nt ai ns or gani c m a teri al an d m i croorganism s. There are a num ber of factors t h at can
cause se wa ge t o e n ter t h e e n vironm ent before
co m p letin g its j ourn e y t h ro ugh th e treatm e n t facility. Th e main o n e s in cl u d e :

•

•

•

• •

br o k eno r l eak y pi pes – t h ese can be ca use d by ag eing p i p e s, co n s t r u c tion activ ities o r ro ad
wo rk s

ove rfl ow s, d u ri ng hea v y rai n f a l l – t h e treat m e n t facility m a y n o t b e ab le to cop e wi th th e vo lu m e s o f water andsewag e en tering t h e syste m , so pum p s are turne d off an d se wa ge is d i sch arg ed d i rectly to th e en v i ron m en t. Th is is
m a de w o rse w h ere h o u ses ha ve st orm w at er illegally conne cted to waste w ater. Also, s o m e ol de r se wera ge sy st em s do n o t have com p l e t e l y separat e d se wa ge an d st o r m w at er pi pes. Du rin g hig h ra infall, sto r m w ater ( u r b an r u noff) can enter t h e se wera ge syste m and ca use sewa ge t o o v er fl o w i n t o th e st orm w at er pi pe s. Sewag e is t h en d i sch a rg ed d i rectly to th e envi ro nm ent

e m ergency ove rflows – t h ese can als o occur peri odi cal l y d u r i n g m a i n t e nan ce o f se wera ge syste m s. There are also othe r s o urces of se wage

. Som e ol der p r ope rt i e s, es pec i al l y baches, ar e still connecte d to a se ptic tank. Whe r e t h ese have det e ri o r at ed th ey lea k c o ntaminated water in to th e gro undw ater system . Th is contam inated water t h en ends up i n waterways and eve n tually at the be ach. Som e boaties discharge thei r waste directly in to th e sea, wi th ou t treatm e n t . Th e Min i stry fo r th e E nvi r o n m ent ’ s b o okl et , Dea ling with Sew age S a f

e l

y an d Resp o n si bl y o n Y o ur B o at , deal s wi t h di schar g es fr om al l m a ri ne vessel s

. The c o st of u

p g ra di n g m u ch of th e c o untry ’ s ageing pipes to cope with our increasing p opu latio n is esti m a tedto b e sev e ral b illio n d o llars. It is an ticip atedt h at th ese up g r ad es will b e sprea dover se veral deca des.

Stormw ater Rain water co ll ectedfro m r oofs, dri v e w ays, roa d s, carparks an d ot her sealed surfaces is pi ped di rectly t o ri vers , l a kes and th e m a ri ne en vi r onm ent with ou t treatmen t

. Du ri n g its trav els sto r m w ater collects a number of nastie s a l on g th e way

. Thi s in clu d e s waste fro m d o m estic an im a l s, wh ich
co llects on footp a th s, gu tters an d lawn s. This contam inated water is was h e dint o the storm w ater sy st em duri n g rai n fal l an d ul t i m a t e ly ends u p on our beac hes. Anim al waste collected in storm w ater contains di sease-causing organism s that can affect hum an healt h

. These pat h oge n s can cau se co ld s, flu , resp irator y illn ess, g a stro in t e stin al illn ess andsk i n , eye andear i n fection s

.
Ru ra l ru n-off
Farm ru n-o f f can ad d sign ifican tly to th e cont am i n at i on of wat e r w ay s. Apar t f

r o m farm oxi dat i o np o n d s , whi c h ha ve beens h o w n t o cont ai nhi g h l e vel s of bact eri a an d pat h oge ns , a large am ount of an im a l waste ends up on t h e pad d o ck

. De p e ndi ng o n a nu m ber of fact o r s – in clu d i n g d i stan ce to th e n e arest stream , rainfall intensity and st ock num b ers – faecal m a terial ends up i n ri ve rs an d stream s, w h i c h ul t i m a t e ly discharge to t h e sea. Where s t ock ha ve acce ss to stream s and ri v e rs fo r dri nki n g water, exc r e m ent may b e d e p o sited d i rectly in to th e water.

AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I37AP PE N D I X 5 : FA CT S H EET S
. P u b l is he d b y t h e Mi ni st r y f o r th e E n vi r o nm ent
. June 2003 

### I38

# Abbreviations CAC Catch m en t Assessm en t Ch ecklist
E H O E n v i ron m en tal Health O f f i c e r
I A N Z I n tern ation a l Accred itatio n N e w Zealand
M A C M i crobi ol o g i c al Assessm ent C a t e gory NZCPS New Zealand Coastal Policy State m ent
RMA Reso ur ce Manag e m e n t A c t 19 91
SFRG Su itab ility for Recreatio n Grad e SIC San itary In sp ectio n Category

A B BR EV I A T I O N S. June 2003 

### J1

# Glossary W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n Agricultur a l lan d
use Land use invo lving cultivation of land or ra ising o f liv estock

. Agricultur a l run-off S u rface w a ter af

ter r a inf a ll from an area of agri cultural land us e. Anim al was t e Anim al fae c a l m a ter i al

. Bact eriolog i ca l indicators Micro-organisms selected as indicators of faecal mater i al. Bathers Thos e who enter the wat e r, and eith er pa rti a ll y o r full y im m e rse them selves. Bathing season Generally th e b a thing season extends b e tween 1 November an d 31 March

. However, th is may v a r y accord ing to lo c a l clim at ic conditions

. Beach The s hore or an y ac ces s poin tto th e s ea, a f r es hwater lak e or riv e r us e d for recreational purposes Bird-roosting
areas Where birds con g regate rou tinely.

Bus h F a llow ar eas , pr edom inantl y covered with native or exo tic bush or scrub. Catchm ent That ar ea o f l a nd fromwhich run o ff or direct dischar g es may aff e ct water-qua lity a ta re cre a tion a l water site. Categor y One of f i ve poss i ble outcomes based on h i storical microb iological
res u lts and pot en tial ris k of

fa ec al contamination. Central tenden c y The d e gree of clustering of th e values of a

sta tistic al d i stribut ion that is us ual l y m eas ured b y th e a r i t h me ti c mea n , mode , or me di an. Coas tal water S eawater w ith in the ou ter lim its o f the terri tori al s e a

. Includ es seawater with a substantial freshwater component; and
s eawater in

es tu arie s, fiords, in le ts, harbours or embay m en ts (RMA). Combined sewer overflows W h ere s t orm w at er and s e wer overflows ar e c o m b ined. Communal sewage disposal Where a number of houses h a ve a com b ined s e wag e dis pos al s y s t e m

.

GL O S S A RY
. June 2003 

### J2W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n Contact
recre a tion Recre a tion a l ac ti vities tha tbr ing people ph y s ically in contact with water, invo lving a risk of involuntar y ing e stion or inhalatio n of water (see also Bath ers ). Contamination Reduction in

water qu ality b y faecal
m a teria l , result in g in a br ea ch of guidelin e v a lu es. Cr

y p tosporid iosi s D i a rrh o e al di se ase c a u se d by oocy s ts of th e pr otozoa Cryptosporidium parvum. Direct disch a rges Piped or chann e lled d i scharg e of
was t ewater con c entra t ed at a

giv e n point (po i nt sour ce). Effluen t The liquid eff l uent from sewage trea tm ent pro ces s e s (s om etim es cal led w a s t ewat e r). Entero cocc i M e m b ers of the S t reptoco ccus group of b acteria ch aracter i sed as faec al in or igin

. Entero lert Trade nam e o f t e st kit for d e te ctin g entero coc c i. Environmental hazard
a sse ssme n t Assessment of risk of poten tial
s ources of f a e cal cont am ination within a cat chm e nt. Es cher ich i a c o li (E. col i ) M e m b er of th e E n teroba cter ia cea e group of b acteria. Exce edan ce W h en indic a tor l e vels froms a m p les taken at

a

re cre a t i onal s ite ex cee d those recommended in th ese guidelin es. Excep tiona l circum s t anc e s Circum s t ances under which th e result of th e gr ad ing m a trix indic a tes an inco nsistenc y b e twe e n the San itar y Insp ect ion Ca tegor y and th e Microbiological Assessment Categor y , r e quiring further investig ation or an aly s is.
F e ral anim al A wild, untam ed anim al

. Follow-up sample Second samp le taken to confirm an initi al high r e sul t; usua ll y wi thin 24–72 hours dep e nding on accessibility / sample turnaround tim e, et c. Forest Area pr edominantly covered b y exotic or native trees. W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n F r es hwater All wat e r exc e pt coas t a l water an d geothermal water (RMA). Gastroenter itis Stom ach condi ti on causing diarrhoea. G i a r d i a s i s C l i n i c a l conditio n caused b y infec tion wi th c y sts of Giardia intestina lis. Graded b each es Beach es id entif i e d b y a gr ade accord ing to th ei r s u itab ili ty for
recre a tion a l us e, as per thes e guidelin es. Hazen m e thod Method for ca lc ulating per cen til e num erical va lues

. High-contact water sports Recre a tion a l ac ti vities tha tbr ing people ph y s ically in contact with water, invo lving a risk of involuntar y ing e stion of water (e.g. swimming, surfing, water skiing, windsurfing). Hum a n was t e F aeca l m a t e ria l

. Median Central value when values are arranged in

order of magnitude. Membrane filter test Tes tto captur e b act eria on a f ilt er b y m eans of f iltr ation

. Microbial indicators Bact eria us ed as indic a tors of fae cal contamination.
M i c r o - o r g a n i s m s C o l l e c t i v e te rm f o r bacter ia, virus e s and proto z oa. Middle-rang e beach es Beach es with a S u itabil i ty for Recreation Grad e of good , fair or poor. Multiple-sam pl e sites Whe n more t h a n one sa mple i s taken along a be ach, e ither be cau s e the b e ach ex tend s for some distanc e , or to in vestigat e po tent i a l
caus e s of exc eed ances

. Non-point-source discharge Diffuse pollu tio n sources (witho ut a single po int of o r igin, or no t introduced in to a receiving stream froma spec ific o u tlet)

. Th e pollutan t s ar e g e nerally carried o ff the land b y s t or m w ater (http://www.epa.gov/OCEPAterms/ nterm s .htm l). On-site waste trea tm ent Septic tank

.

GL O S S A RY
. June 2003 

### J3W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n Pathenogen i c micro-organisms Micro-organisms that can cause dis eas e. P a t h o g e n s P a t h e n o g e n i c m i c r o - o r g a n i s m s

. Point-source discharge Piped or chann e lled d i scharg e of
was t e wat e r con centr ated a t a gi ven point. Potentia l contamination
source An y f eatur e of th e c a t c hm ent th a t may contribu te hu man or an imal
was t e th at aff ect s the
m i crobiologi cal condition of a
recre a tion a l site

. Prim ar y trea tm e n t The f i rst m a jor stage of trea tm ent following pr elim inar y tre a tm ent i n a was t ew ater wo rks , us uall y involving removal of settleable solids. Principal source (of contamination) The source of fa eca l contam ina t i on that has th e gr ea t e s teff e c ton recre a tion a l wat e r qua lity. Private sewage disposal s y stem Septic tank , long drop (pit pr iv y )

.

P r o t o z o a S i n g l e - c e l l e d m i c r o - o r g a n i s m s

. Rainfa ll even t A rainfa ll even t i s one th at has an effect on beach water qu ality

. This may b e d e scribed in mm of r a inf a ll over time. Th e definition of rain fall events wi ll v a r y within and b e tw een cat chm e nts

. F a c t ors s u ch as land use, veg e tation cover and catchment
s i ze wi ll affe ct th e qua lity and quantity of w a ter that impacts on a beach

. W a ter m a nagers in ea ch region wi ll n eed to de term ine what qualifi e s as a rai n fall even t in th e i r region, or may b e even in cat chm e nts in th eir r e gion

. Historica l da ta m a y h e lp to determ ine th e l e vels of r a inf a ll required to impact on a region ’s beach es

. Note : data s p eci fic to d r y weather sam p lin g is l i kel y to ref l ect the most f a vourable indication of a heal th ris k

. Recre a tion a l us e S ee con t act r ecr eation

. Respirator y illness Col d a n d fl u-li ke sy mpt o ms; may be as s o ci at ed wi th fev e r. W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n Ris k The pub lic he alth ris k when considering beach water qua lity i s the prob abil ity o f il lness oc currin g

. The b e s t avai lab l e m eans of predicting the pr obability of illness occurring at a beach is giv e n b y the number of par ticular indicator bact eria pres en t in th e wa ter. Risk factors Potential sources of f aecal contamination. Salm onellosis Disease c a used b y infe ction with
me mbe r s of t h e Salmonella e gro up of bacter ia. Sanitar y landf ill s Landfi lls (t ips) where sewag e sludge is d i sposed. S a nitar y s u rv e y S u rve y to d e t ect potenti al s ources of fae c a l pol luti on within a cat chm e nt. Secondar y trea tm ent The tre a tm ent o f waste w a ter , usually after rem oval of suspended solids, b y b a cteria under aerobic conditions durin g which org a nic
m a tter in solu tio n is oxid i sed or incorpora t ed int o ce lls, which m a y be rem oved b y s e ttl em ent. This may be a c h ie v e d by b i ol o g i ca l filtr ation or b y th e a c tiv at ed-slud g e proces s

. S o m e ti m e s call e d ‘ aero b ic biological treatm ent’. Septic tank A ty pe of sedim e ntation tank in which th e sludg e is re ta ined
s u fficien tl y long for th e org a ni c conten t to under go anaerobic digestion

. (W hen effi ci ent, th is equat e s to s econ d ar y tr ea tm ent.) Sewage The liquid wastes of a community , including to ile t wastes, sull age a nd trade was t es

. M a y in clude storm w ater infi ltration

. Sewerage A s y stem of pipes to conv ey sewage to th e p l ace of d i sposal o r trea tm ent. The t e rm‘s ewerage’ i s analogous to ‘sewer reticu lation’ or ‘drainag e s y s t em ’.

GL O S S A RY
. June 2003 

### J4W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n Tert iar y tre a tm e n t The fur t her tr eatm e nt of biologically tr eate d waste water by removing suspended matter to enabl e th e efflu e nt to com p l y wi th a standard more stringent than 30:20 (not con t ain i ng more than 30 mg/L suspended solids and with a biological ox y g en demand (BOD ) not ex ceeding 2 0 mg/L) b e fore discharge to a receiv i ng water. Also termed ‘po l ishing’. Note: this is not equivalent to disinfection. A s y stem should b e described as secondar y tr eatment + disinfection, but not tertiar y trea tm ent. Treated efflu e nt Effluen tth at has been through at least prim ar y tre a tm ent (se e also Primar y treatment, Secondar y trea tm ent, and T e rti a r y tr ea tm ent )

. Ungraded beach es Beach es th at are not us ed for conta c t r ecr ea tio n and ther efore have no t b een th rough the grad in g process. W o r d / t e r m D e f i n i t i o n W a s t ewater trea tm ent pl ant A faci lity for tre a ting efflu e nt before d i scharg i ng it into th e environm ent (s e e a l s o Tr eat ed effluen t ). Water manag e r A generic term u s ed for an y person(s) or org a nisation ( s) that make(s) decision s regarding water use or qu ality , in cluding those th at monitor for state of th e environment reporting and for public h ealth protection. Water qu ality The b acter io logical condition of a water bod y as it rela tes to hum an heal th, m eas ured us ing ind i ca tor bact eria

. Waterborne pathogen Dis eas e-caus i ng m i cro-organis m s capab le of b e ing transm itt ed b y water.

GL O S S A RY
. June 2003 

### J5

# References and Further Reading The fol l o wi n g doc um ent s are or dere d alp h a b e tically b y au t h or, th en b y d a te, with
accom p anying commentary. A librarian can easily o b t ain m o st o f th e item s in this list. For those m o re diffic u lt to access , sup p l e m e nt al inf o rm at i on i s g i ven o n th ei r av ailab ility.

A bbo tt S, Caug h l ey B, Sco tt G

. 199 8. Ev al u a tio n o f

En tero lert ® for the enum eration of ente rococci i n t h e m a ri ne e nvi ro nm ent

. N e w Zeal an d J o urn a l of M a ri ne a n d Freshw at er Re searc h 3 2 : 50 5– 13

. Reports co m p a r ati v e evaluation of Enterolert ® ver s us
m e m b rane filtratio n on 343 m a rine s a m p l e s fro m the W e llington area. Found sensitivityo f 99.8% and specificityof 97% (2.4% false positives and 0.3% false negatives).
Alexande r LM , Hea v e n A, M o r r is R. 1 9 9 2

. Sy m p to m a to log y of ch ild ren i n co n t act with sea water c o ntaminated with sewage. Jou r na l of Epi d e m i o logy an d C o m m uni t y He al t h 4 6 : 34 0–4

. A pr ospective studyof par e nts of childr e n between 6 an d 11 y ears was conducted at Blackpool beach (UK ) in 1990,
r e sulting in 703 cases of m a tc hed data. Concluded that “childr e n who cam e into contact with conta m inat ed sea water are likel y to devel op sym p to m s as a result”.
A n d e r s on S A , Tu rn er S J , Lew i s GD

. 1 997

. En tero co cci in th e Ne w Zealand environm ent: i m p licatio n s for water q u a lity m o n ito rin g

. Wa te r S

c ien ce an d Tech no log y 35 (11 –12 ) : 32 5–3 1. A considerable par t of

the ente r o cocci load in ur ban and r u r a l catch m e nts and wa terwa y s (t ypicall y 10 2 –1 0 3 cf u/10 0 m L )
co m e s fr o m non- h u m an sour ces. T h ey m a y m u ltiply within
so m e non-faecal e nviron m ents (e .g. on degrading seaweed).

A s hbo lt N J , G r o h m an n G S , Ku eh CSW

. 1993

. Signi ficance of specific bacterial pathoge n s i n the
assessm ent of pollute d receiving waters of Sydney, Au st ralia. W a te r Sci e nce an d Tech nology 27( 3–4 ) : 4 49– 52

. Pri m a r y sewage re leased f r o m S y dney’s ocean outf a lls and tertiary chlorinated sewage discharge dto rivers we re stu d ied f o r two yea r s. Diverting the ocean discharge f r o m a clif f

- edge release to deepw a t e r ocean releas e 3 k m of

f s hore result ed in significant r e ducti ons of bacter ia in water , but not in near

- s hor e sedim e nts. Campylobacter s wer e found in r i ver s but not in effluent s or seawater , being associate dwith rural l a nd.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J6B a l a rajan R , S oni R a l e i g h V, Yue n P, Wh eel er D, Mach in D , Cartw r igh t R. 1989

. H ealth r i sk s associated with bathi n g in sea water. British Medi c al J

o urn a l 303 : 144 4–5. Reports a thr ee-week pr ospective cohort studyat Ra m s g a te Beach (Kent, UK ) using 1,88 3 person s, including 839 no nbathers as a contro l. The wate rs occa sionally failed EC standar d s ( but this is not quantified)

. Relative r i sk of gastrointestinal sym p to m s (a ge- and gender

- a djusted) was elevated am ong the bather s ( i

. e

. s w im m e r s and wader s )

. Relative risks of eye/ea r/nose /throat and respiratory illness
am ong sur f er s and diver s wer e statisticallysignificant.

B a ndaranay a k e DR , Sal m ond C E , C o o p er A B , M c Bride GB, Lewis GD , Hatton C , T u r n er SJ, Till DG. 1 993

. Hea lth Effects from S e a Ba th ing : A rep o rt o n t h e prel i m i nary study ca rri ed o u t at t w o Auckl a n d beac hes over t

h e 19 9 2/ 9 3 s u mmer
. Min i stry for t h e Env i ro n m en t, W e lling t on

. Reports on the New Z ealand 1992/9 3 pr elim inarytr ials

. I n cludes the paper , the questionnair e, and a sam p le size calculation (power analysis) for the planned final study

. B a rr onR C , M u r p hy F, G r eenber g HB , Da vi s C E , Bregm a n DJ , Gary G W , H u ghes JM, Scho nb er g e r LB. 1 982

. No rw alk g a stro in testin al illn ess: an o u t break asso ciated with swimmin g in a recreat i o nal l a ke an d sec o n d ary pe rs on -t o - pe rso n transm ission. Ameri c a n J o ur nal of E

p i d e m i o l o gy 1 15( 2) : 163 –72

. I n cubation per i od f o r

121 fir s t- in- t heir

- household per s o n s beco m i ng ill at a M i chigan r ecreatio nal par k was 4–77 hour s. A histor yof swi m m i ng in the park’s lake was eli c ited w ith significantlygr eater fr equencyof illness co m p ar ed to those who did not swim ( odds r a tio 4. 8, 95% CI = 1. 8–12. 7)

. Serological studies identif ied Norwalk virus as the aetio logical agent. Water appeared to m e etcurre n t bacterial guideli nes. Baylor ER, Baylor MB, Blanchar d DC, Syzdek L D , Appel C

. 1977

. V i ru s tr an sf er fr o m sur f t o wi nd. Science 198 : 5 7 5 –80

. Docu m e nts this m ode of path ogen tr ansfer

. B r i e sem a n M A

. 19 8 7

. T o w n wat e r s u ppl y a s th e cause of an out b rea k of C a m p

yl ob act e r infectio n

. N

e w Zeala n d Medi c al J

o urn a l 100 : 212 –13. An outbr eak of 19 cases in Ashburton was attr ibuted to the local water supply being contam in ated after heavy r a in dur ing a per i od in which water tr eat m e nt was tem por ar ilynot oper a ting. Brown JM, Cam p b e ll EA, Ri ck ard s AD, Wheel e r D. 1 9 8 7

. Sewa ge p o l l u t i on of bat h i n g water. The Lancet (21 N o v e m b er ) : 1 208 –9. Reports a Gre e npeace study on two s outhern England resorts, one polluted the ot her not, inte r v iewing 190 pe ople. Found that

“ b athers who i mmersed their h eads i n seawater polluted by sewage we re m o re likely to co m p lain of gastrointestinal sym p to m s than those who did not imm e r s e their heads or those who bathed at a non- polluted r e sort ”.

B ry a n J A , Leh m ann J D , Set i a dy IF , Hat c h M H

. 1 974

. An ou tbr eak of H e patit is-A as sociated with recreation a l lak e water. A m e r i c an Jo ur nal of Ep id emio lo g y 9 9 (2 ) : 1 45– 54

. I n a 15- dayper i od in Septem ber 1969 , 14 cases of vir a l hepatitis-A developed in m e m b e r s of a boyscout troop who had been ca m p ing on an island in a lake r ecreation ar ea abo u t f our weeks earli er. Exp o sure to conta m inated lake wate r was indicated.
Cab e lli VJ, Lev i n M A , Du fou r AP, McCabe LJ. 1975. T h e developm ent of cri t eria for recrea tional waters. In: AL H Gam e son (e d)

. Disc h a r g e of Sew age f r om S e a Out f

a l l s
. Ox fo rdand N e w Yo rk , Perg am o n Pr ess, 63– 73

. Foreshadows the full trials reported i n Cabelli (1983a). E xplains how the design was aim e d at im pr oving per c eived shortco m ings in th e 1940s studyr e ported byStevenson ( 1953) , including: ‘ s wim m i ng’ to r e quir e head- i m m er sion, m u ltiple exposures to be avoided, non-ba ther controls to be beach attender s , include m o r e candidate indicator s. Notes that studies need to be lar g e en ough to o b tain “si g nificant r e sults”.
Cab e lli VJ. 197 7. In d i cators o f recreatio n a l water q u a lity. In : AW Ho ad ley and BJ Du k t a (eds) Ba cteria l Ind i ca to rs/ Hea lth Ha zard s Asso ciated with Wa ter

. AS TM S T P 635 , Am erican Soc i ety f o r

Testing and Mater i als, W a sh ing t on : 2 22–3 8. An earl yreview of Cabelli’s appr oac h . Points to the ne ed to develop a scientifi c basis for st andards applicable to waters containing f aecal wastes of lower an i m als (f ro m w a terf owl,
w ild a n im a l s, fa rmr un- off and ur ban stormw ater ). Rep o rt s
r e sults fr o m New Yor k co m ponent of the full studyr e ported by Cabelli (1983a).
Cab e lli VJ. 197 8. New stan dard s fo r en teric b acteria. In : R Mitch e ll (ed) Wa ter Po llu tion Mi crobi ol o g y , V o l 2

. W iley, N e w Yo rk : 233 –71

. Cover s r i sk assessm ent, dr inki ng water , swi m m i ng pool water,
recre a tional wate rs and shellf ish- gr o w ing water s . Reviews each area up to the m i d-1970s.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J7Cab e lli VJ. 197 9. Ev al u a tio n of recreation a l water qu ality, th e EPA app r o a ch

. In : A Jam e s and L Evis on (e ds ) Bi ol o g i c al In di cat o rs of Wat e r Qua lity

. W iley, Ch ich e ster , 1 4 -1 –14 -2 3. Discusses E P A’ s use of “cr iter i a”, “guidelines” and “standar d s”: a cr iter i on is a r e lationship ( e

. g

. between in dicator densityand illness risk); a guideline i s a suggested uppe r li m it, der i ved fr o m the cr iter i on; and a stan dar dis a guideline with the force of law. The beach studies unde rwa ywe re designe d to pr ovide cr iter i a.
Cab e lli VJ, Dufou r AP, Lev i n MA, McCab e LJ, Habe rm an P W

. 19 7 9

. R e l a t i ons hi p of
m i crobi ol ogi ca l i ndi cat o r s t o heal t h e ffect s a t
m a ri ne bat h i n g beac hes. A m e r i c an Jo ur nal of Pub lic Hea lth 6 9 (7 ) : 6 90– 6. Reports r e sults of second y ear for the New Yor k part of the full studyreported by Cabelli (1983a).
Cab e lli VJ, Dufou r AP, Mc Cab e LJ, Lev i n MA. 1 982

. Swimmi n g -asso c iatedg a stro en teritis an d water qu ality. Ameri c a n J o ur nal of E

p i d e m i o l o gy 11 5: 60 6

– 1 6

. Reports m a in results of Cabe lli (1983 a). Concludes that

“ s wi mm ing in eve n m a rginall ypolluted m a rine bathing water is a significant r oute of tr ans m ission for the obser ved gastroenteritis”.
Cab e lli VJ. 198 3 a

. Hea lth Ef fects Criteria fo r Mari ne Recre a t i onal Wat e rs
. R e p o rt E P A 6 00/ 1- 80

- 0 3 1 , US EP A C i nci nnat i , OH ( f i r st pu bl i s he d 1 980 ). N T I S access # : PB 8 3

- 259 994

. Major prospective epide m iological st udy at coastal bea c h es in New York and Boston, and a brackish beach at Lake Ponchartrain (Loui siana), invol ving 2 6 ,686 persons. Beaches were i m pacted b y ( m ostly) chlori nated effluent s. M o st notable result was a rel a tionship between swimm i ng-associated illness
r i sk and ( t he logar i th m of) enter o cocci concentr ation. The illness was HCG I (highly credib le gastro-intestinal illness, essentially vo m itin g or GI acco m p ani e d by f e ver). Anal ysis
m e thods used data gr oupin g followed bylinear r e gr essio n , rather than the m o re m odern “ g enerali zed linear m odels” (e.g. logistic r e gr ession) ; appr opr ia te software w a s not then available. Also in cludes a 1976– 78 s tudyin Alexandr ia, E g yp t. So m e beaches wer e very polluted (enterococci up to 10 4 per 100 m L )

. E g yp tian participants included 12, 53 2 locals and 10, 707 visit o r s ( f r o m Cair o). Only E. co li and enteroc o cci were
m e asur ed, both sh owing str ong assoc i ations with highly credible gastrointestinal illness. For equivalent enterococci concentrations illness risks were low e r than found in th e US studies, attr ibuted to local im m uni t y ( C airo visitors appeared to be less im m une)

. Four cases of typhoid wer e found am ong swi m m e rs at the p o lluted beach.
Cab e lli VJ. 198 3b . Pub lic h e alth and water q u a lity sign ifican ce o f v i ral d i seases tran sm it tedb y dri nki ng wat e r and rec r eat i o na l wat e r. Wa te r Science & Technology 15 (5 ) : 1 –15

. Presents predictions of gastroin testina l illness at beaches using the relationships derived in Cabelli (1983a). Notes the inapplicability of the m odel to beach es with s m a ll i mmediate waste sources, and local outbreaks.
Cab e lli VJ, Dufou r AP, Mc Cab e LJ, Lev i n MA. 1 983

. A m a rin e recreati o n a l water qu ality cri t e ri onc onsi s t e nt wi th i n di cat or c o ncept s an d risk an alysis. Jo urna l o f th e Wa ter Po llu tion C

ont r o l Fe dera t i o n 55 : 1 306– 14

. Presents the health ef f ects en ter o cocci indicator r e lation s hip derived in Cabelli (1983a). Co m p anion paper to Cabelli et al ( 1982)

. Cab e lli VJ. 198 9. Swimmin g -associatedillness
an d recreation a l water qu ality criteria. Wa te r S

c ien ce an d Tech no log y 21 (2 ): 1 3–2 1. Presents the applic ation of re sults in Cabelli (1983a) by USEP A ( 1986b)

. Contains an er r o r

in the inter cept ter m ( ‘ 0

. 02’ in T able E 1 should be ‘ 0

. 2 ’ )

. States the expectation that conta m ination of water with f aecal wastes f r o m lowe r ani m als would carry a m u c h lower risk of illness than fro m hu mans.
Calderon RL , Mood E W

. 1982. A n ep id em io lo g i cal assessm en t o f water qu ality an d ‘swim m er’s ear’. Arc h ives of Envir o nme n tal Hea lth 37( 5) : 3 00– 5. A ret r ospective studyof otitis externa in 1980 on 2 9 cases and contr o ls findi ng th at swim m i ng and length of tim e spen t in the water were associa t ed positively w ith cases of o titis externa. No significant correlation of th e illness with wate r quality w a s f o und (f aecal colif or m s , ente rococci, P s eudomonas aerugin o sa ).
Cald er on RL, Mo odEW , Duf o u r AP. 199 1. Health e ffects of swimm e r s an d non po in t sou r ces of contam inate d water. In tern a tiona l Jou r na l o f Environment a l He alth Rese ar ch 1 : 21– 31

. Reports a diaryillness studyof user s of fr eshwater ponds i m

p acted only b ya n i m al wast es. Gas t rointestinal illness was related to the nu mber of swi m m e rs a nd to staphylococcal counts. “ S wi m m e r illness was not as sociated with high densities of co mmon f aecal indicator bacteria

.. .”.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J8Carrie MS. 1 9 7 3 . C o liform s an d water q u a l ity l e gi sl at i on. Soil a n d Wa ter 10 (2 ) : 20 –3

. Gives so m e explan ation of how the st andar d s in the 197 1 W a ter and Soil Conser vation Am end m ent Act ( N o. 2) cam e to pass.
Ch eung W H S, Ch ang K C K, H ung RPS, Kleeve n s J W L

. 1990. Healt h e ffects of bea c h
w a ter po llu tio n in H ong K ong. Ep id em io lo gy an d In

fection 10 5: 13 9

– 6 2

. Reports on a 1987 pr ospective studyat nine Hong Kong beaches using 18,7 41 useable respons es. E. coli was found to be the best indicator of health e ffects (gastrointesteritis and skin sym p to m r a tes ) a m ong swim m e r s

. Over all sy m p to m r a tes for gastrointestinal, ea r, e y e, skin , respira t ory, fever and total illness was (statisti cally) significan tly higher for swi m mers than for non-swi m m e rs . Low gast rointestinal illness rates we re observed at the tw o beaches i m pacte dby ani m al wastes

. Concludes that illness associated with swi m m i ng is a pu blic health pr oblem in Hong Kong. W h ile this studyr e ported low gastro-intestinal s w i m m i ng -associ at ed rates at the two beaches influenced by lives to ck (pig) wastes, respiratory i llness a nd skin infections rat e s were elev ated s u ch that the total il lness
r a te was verysi m i lar to the other beaches.
Ch eung W H S, Ch ang K C K, H ung RPS. 199 1. Variations in microbial in dicator de nsities in beach waters and h e alth -related assessm en t o f b a th i n g water qu ality. Epi d e m i o logy an d I n f

ect i on 1 06: 3 29– 44

. Descr i bes dailyan d hour lyvar i ati ons in m i cr obial indicator s. E. coli was influenced bytide, bystaphy lococci and by the
nu m b er of

bathers. Average staphylococci: E. co li ratio was 0. 04:3. Staphy lococci ser v e as an indicator of bather density and r i sk of cr oss- contam inati on between bather s. Recom m e nds weekend sa m p ling f o r co m p li ance as sess m e nt. Chung H, Jay k us L

- A, L o velace G, Sobs ey MD. 19 9 8

. B act eri o pha ges an d ba c t eria as indicators of enteric viruses in oysters an d their harvest wa ters. Wat e r Sci e nce an d Tech n o l o g y 38 (12 ) : 3 7 –44

. Concentr ations of m a le- s pecific ( F +) coliphages, Bacteroides fragilis phages, Sa lmonella phages and sever a l indicator bacteria in wastew ater, estuarine r ece iving water and its oysters
wer e exam ined at 2–4- week inter v als for 14 m onths. The levels of m o st indicator s wer e higher in o y s t er s and water when oysters w e re vi rus-positiv e. F+ coliphages and C. perfringens were the only indicators signif i cantly associated with th e presence of enteric viruses in oysters. Co nov er W J

. 1 980

. Pract i c al N

o n

para m et ri c Sta tistics

. 2n d ed. W iley , Ne w Yo rk

. T h e best intr oduction to this class of m e thods, wher eb y data ranks are used in p l ace of thei r actual m a gnitudes (e.g. medians and percentiles).
Cor b ett SJ, Ru bin GL , Cu rry GK , Kleinba u m DG, et al 1993. T h e health effects of s w imming at Sy dney beac he s. A m eri c an J our n a l of Pu bl i c Hea lth 83( 12 ) : 17 01– 6. Reports follow- up studyof 2, 839 bea c h- goer s in 1989/9 0 ; 683 reported experienc i ng sym p to m s in t h e 10 days following initial inter v iew, of whom 435 r e ported r e s p ir ator ys y m p to m s

. A linear r e lationship between wa ter pollution and all r e ported sym p to m s (except gastrointestinal) w a s shown.
C o r n ax R , M o r i ni go M A , B a l e bo na C , C a st r o D, Bo rr ego JJ. 199 1. Sign if icance of sev e r a l bacteriophage groups as i ndic a tors of se wage p o llu tion i n m a rin e waters. W a ter Rese arc h 25: 6 73– 8. Fro m a two-beach studythis docu m e n ts a poor correlati on between FRNA phages and pathogen occur r e nce and persistence. Concl udes that f aecal str e ptococci and E. c o li “C bacter iophages ” ar e the m o st appr opr iate indicator s of
re m o te pollution in m a rine wat e rs.
Dad s well JV. 1 993

. Microb i o log i cal qu ality o f
co astal water an d its h ealth effects. In terna tio na l Jo urna l o f En viro nmen ta l Hea lth Resea r ch 3: 3 2–4 6. Reviews health- r e lated m a r i ne m i cr o b iology , both natur a l and pollution-related o r ganis m s

. D’Alessio D, Min o t TE, Allen CI, Tsiatis AA, N e lson D B

. 19 81

. A st u d y of th e pr opo r tion s o f swimmers am o n g well co n t ro l s andch ild ren with
en tero v i ru s-like illn ess sh edd i n g or no t sh edd i ng an e n t e r ovi r u s

. A m eri c a n J o u r nal of E

p i d e m i o l ogy 1 13( 5) : 533 –41

. A r e tr ospective studyof childr e n visiting a paediatric cli n ic in M a dison, W i sconsin, in 1977: 67 9 well childr e n and 296 with enteroviral-like s y m p to m s

. Ex clusive beach swi m m e rs had significantly( p < 0. 0005) r e lative r i sk ( odds r a tio estim a te 3.41) of enterovirus illness. The highest relative risk (1 0.63) of enterovirus illness occurred in ch ildre n less than four ye ars old who were exclusiv e beach swi m m e rs.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J9Dav i es-Co lley RJ, Bell RG, Do nn iso nAM. 1 994

. Sun lig h t i n activ atio n of en tero co cci and fecal
co liform s in sewag e efflu e n t d ilu tedi n seawater. Ap pl i e d an d E n vi ro n m ent a l

Mi crobi ol o g y60: 2 049 –58

. Two p a ra m e te rs ar e requ i r ed to des c ri be the in act iva tion (los s of cultu r a b i lity) : a sho u lder constant and a r a te con s tant. Depthdepend ent inactivation r a te fo r bothin dicators m a tched th e attenuationpr of ile of UV-A radiation at about 360 n m ( a ttr i butable to inactivation m a x i m a in the 318–340 and > 400 n m r a

ng es , Sin t on et al 1994)

. I n activ ation b y UV-B ( 290–32 0 n m , whichp e ne trat es le ss in to se aw at er) is of les s e r i m po rt anc e

. Davi es -C ol l e y R J , D o nni s o nAM , S p ee d DJ

. 1 997

. Su n ligh t wav e leng th s in activ ating faecal in d i cator m i cro - org an i sm s in waste stab ilisatio n p ond s. Wa ter S c ien ce an d Tech no log y 35 (11 –12 ) : 2 19– 25

. UVB, UVA and blue- g r een ( < 550 nm ) r a diation all co ntr i buted to inactivation of e n terococci and ( possibly ) FRNA phage, consistent with a photo- oxi dation m e chanis m

. I n contr a st, E. co li and ( possib l y ) FDNA phage wer e inactivated m a inlyby UVB in these fr es hwater s. Results suggest E. co li m a y be a better f r eshwater i ndicator than enter o cocci.
Davi es -C ol l e y R J , D o nni s o nAM , S p ee d DJ , Ro ss CM, N a gels JW

. 1 999

. In activ atio n of faecal indicator m i croorganism s in waste stab ilisatio n p o n d s : In teraction s o f env i ron m en tal fact or s wi t h s u nl i ght

. Wa te r R e s 33 : 1 220 –3 0. Sunlight exp o sur e is consider ed to be the m o st i m portan t cause of “natural” disinfection in wa ste sta b ilisation ponds (WSPs). T h e influence of di ssolved oxy gen ( DO) , pH, and particulate and dissolved cons tituents in WSP effluent, on sunlight inactivation of fae cal m i cr o- or ganis m s , using s m all r e actor s operated under controlled phy sico-che m i cal conditions was
exam ined. I n activation of bot h enter o cocci and F- RNA phages incr eased str ongly as DO was incr eas e d, and also depended on light-absorbing pond-water c onstitue n ts, but pH was not influential over the range investig ated (7.5 to 10). Inacti v ation of E. co li incr eased str onglywhen pH incr eased above 8. 5, as well as being str onglydepende nt on DO. I n activation of F- DNA phage was independent o f th e factor s investigated. T h ese r e sults ar e consistent with the F- DNA phages being inactivated as a res u lt of direct DNA da m a ge by UVB i n sunlight, whereas the other three m i c r obiological indicators are inactivated as a r e s u lt of ph oto- oxidat i ve dam a ge, although the tar g et of dam a ge is appar e n tlydiffer e nt. Our findings o f diver s e influences of phy sico- c hem i cal conditions sug g e st diffic u lties in interpreting data for a s i ngle m i cro-organi s m to indicate WSP effluent quality. Howe ver, sunlight re m a i n s the factor of over r i din g im portance, and disinfectio n in W S Ps m a y be enhanced byincr easing sunlight exposur e. D eely J, Ho dges S, McI n t o sh J, Bassett D. 1997. Enterococ cal num b ers m easured in wate rs of
m a ri ne, l a ke , an d ri ver swi m m i ng si t e s o f t

h e B a y of Plenty, Ne w Zealand. N e w Zeal an d J o ur n a l of Mari ne a n d Fr eshw at er Rese arc h 3 1 : 89 –101

. Reports enterococci nu m b e r s f o r 32 coastal beaches, 2 3 lake beaches and 31 river swi m m i ng holes , using m e dians of f

i ve sa m p l e s. Most m a rine, lake and up- r i ver sites had low enter o cocci counts, co m p ly ing w ith cur r e nt guidelines, but m i d

river and lowland r i ver rea c hes tended to breach those guidelines. Depart m e nt of Heal th

. 1 9 9 2

. Pro v isi o na l Micro b i o l og ica l Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es f o r Recrea tion a l an d Sh ellfish

- g a th ering Wa ters in New Zea land . Depart m e nt of Heal th , Pu bl i c Health Serv ices, Wellin g t on

. Pr evious guideline s , issued in r e sponse to a nu m b er of authorities beginni ng to use the USEPA (1986b) criteri a. These guidelines atte m p t e d to interpret those crite ria in t e r m s of New Z ealand conditions

. Di si nfect i o n R e vi ew G r o u p . 20 0 2

. Pilo t St u d y : Pilo t p lan t in vestig a tion s , su rro g a t e stu d y

resu lts

an d r eco m m en dat i o ns
. Final rep o rt t o Water care Serv ices Ltd, A u ck land , Ju ne. Reports on an extensive set of trials e x a m ining inactivation rates of a nu m b er of faecal indi cators and pathogens in a pilot plant m i m i cking the pr ocesses to be u s ed in the upgr aded Mangere Waste w a t er T r eat m e nt Plan t. D e m onstrates decr easing cor r e lations between indicator s and pathogen s (enteroviruses) as t h e level of treat m e nt is increased.

D onn ison A M , Coo p e r R

N

. 19 90 . Enu m er at io n of faecal c o liform s and E s ch er ic h i a co li in New Zealand recei ving waters and efflue nts. Environment a l Technology 11 : 112 3–7

. Describes m T EC m e m b rane filtratio n m e thod for enu m eration of

f

aecal colif or m s and E. co li ( a s a s ubsequent step)

. Co m p ar es the m e thod fav our ablyto alter n atives (M PN and mF C )

. D onn ison A M . 199 2. Enu m e r atio n of e n ter o cocci i n Ne w Zeal an d wat e rs an d e f fl ue nt s. Environment a l Technology 13 : 771 –8

. Co m p ar es an in- h o u se M P N m e thod to the USE P A Mem b r a ne Filter Method, suggesting it as a desirable m e thod for
enu m e r ating enter o cocci in ef f l uents (particularl yif the ya r e m i ni m a ll y t r eated ).

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J10D onn ison A M , Ro ss CM. 1 9 9 5

. S o m a tic an d F-s p ecific c o lipha ges in Ne w Zealand waste t r eatm e nt l a go ons

. Water Re searc h 29 ( 4 ): 1 105 –10

. Concludes that the FRNA:FDNA coliphage r a tio m a y distinguis h between ani m al and hu m a n faecal m a t e rial

. D onn ison A M , Ro ss CM. 1 9 9 9

. An im a l an d hum an faecal pollution in Ne w Zealan d. New Zea land Jo urna l o f Ma ri n e an d Fresh w a t er Researc h 33 : 11 9–2 8. Sentinel f r eshwate r m

u ssels were placed in r i ver s i m pacted by f aecal pollution. E. co li we re recovered fro m all sites ( i ncluding a for e st contr o l site ) but wer e highest at sites i m

p acted by treat e dsewage, m eat -pr o cessing wastes or dairy farm inputs. T h e pathogens m easur ed ( Campylobacter jejuni , E. co li , Salmonella typhimurium, Y e rsinia enterocolitica ) we re recovered f r o m m u ssels – except at th e control site. Unt r eated wastewate r s (shee p , beef , hu m a n se wage) all indicated the pr esence of these pathogens, m o stlyin m o r e than half the
sa m p l e s. Ther m ophilic Campylobact e r s “ a re likely to re m a in after secondar ytr eatm ent of eith er m eat plant waste water or sewage”.

D u f our A P

. 19 84

. Hea lth Ef fects Criteria fo r Fresh Recrea tio na l Wa ters

. Rep o r t EPA 600 /1- 84 .0 0 4 , US EP A C i nci nnat i , OH

. NT IS acc ess #: PB 85 -15 087 8. Major prospective epide m iological st udy at lake beache s in T u lsa, Oklaho m a , and E r ie, Pennsy l vania, involving 3 4 , 598 per s ons. M o st notable r e sult was a r e lationship between

“ s wi mm ing-associated pollution-related illness risk” and (the logar ith m of) E. coli and enterococci concentrations. T h e association with E. coli was the st ronger of the two. The illness was HCG I (highly credible gast ro-int estinal illness, being GI
acco m p anied byfe ver). Analy s is m e t hods used data gro uping followed bylinear r e gr ession, r a ther than the m o r e m oder n

“ g eneralized linear m odels” ( e .g. logi stic regression); appr opr iate softwar e was not availa ble. Also r e ports results of E g yp tian studies, but these wer e not included in their fin a l analysis.

Dut k a BJ. 1979. Micr o b i o l o gi cal i ndi cat ors , pr o b l e m s and pot e n t i a l of ne w m i crobi al i n di cat ors o f

water qu ality. In : A Jam e s andL Ev ison (ed s ) Bio l og ica l Ind i ca to rs o f

Wa ter Qu a lity . W i l e y an d Son s , Lond on

. Reviews alternativ es, each of which m a y signal conta m ination. Eb erh art-Ph illip s J, Walk er N, Garrett N, Bell D, Sin c lair D, Rai n g e r W, Bates M. 199 7. Campylobacter io sis in New Zealan d : resu lts of a case-control st udy. Jo urna l of Ep id em io lo g y

an d Co mmun ity Hea lth 5 1 : 68 6–91

. Reports a studyon 621 people with n o tified illness between June 199 4 and February 1995 in Auckland, Ha m ilton, W e llington and Chr i stchur ch. Found under c ooked chick e n to be a str ong r i sk factor

. Rainwater as a sour ce at ho m e was a lesser factor

. Recreational water use appear s not to have been in the questionnair e.
EEC. 1976. C o uncil Di rective of 8 Decem ber 1 975 co n c ern i n g th e qu ality o f b a t h ing water (7 6/1 6 0 /EEC). Officia l Jou r na l o f

t

h e Eu ro pea n Co mmun ities

. No. L31 / 1– 7. Av ailab l e at: h ttp ://eu r o p a .eu

. in t/water/wat erb a th ing / d i rectiv .h tml. Docu m e nts the E E C bathing water di rective. I m p e rativ e standar d s r e quir e 95% of fort ni ghtlysam p les to not exceed 10,000 total colifo r m s pe r 100 m L or 2000 faecal colifo r m s pe r 100 m L

. I f inspection shows that oth e r substances m a y be present, or that wat e r quality ha s deteriorated, then there should be zer o Salmonella per litre and ze ro enterovirus per 10 litres in 95% of sam p les ( s am pling fr eque ncy unspecif i ed). Guideline values r e quir e 80% of fort nig h tlysam p les to not exceed 500 total coliform s per 100 m L or 100 faecal coliform s per 100 m L

. If inspection show s that the substa nces m a y be p r esent, or that water qualit y has d e teriorated, th en 80% of sam p les sho u ld not exceed 100 faecal streptococci per 100 m L (sa m pling frequency unspecified)

. T h ere ar e other li m its o n pH, colour , m i ner a l oils, surf ace-active substances, phenol s, tra n sparency, dissolved oxy gen, tar r y r e sidues and floa tables ( f ortnightlysam p ling being required f o r colour, m i neral oil s , surf ace-active substances, phenol s, tr anspar ency , tarr y r e sidues and floatables)

. T h e following shoul d be checked if ther e is a tendencytowar deutr ophicati on: amm onia and Kjeldahl nitr ogen. I f inspection shows that oth e r substances m a y be present, or that wat e r quality has deteriorated, then sa m p l i ng is
r e quir e d for pesticides, heavy m e tals, cyanides, nitrat es a nd phosp h ates.
EEC. 19 79 . C o un cil D i r ective of 3 0 O c t o b e r 1 979 o n th e quality req u i redof sh ellfish waters. Officia l Jou r nal o f

th e Eu rop e a n Commun ities

. No . L 2 8 1 / 4 7– 49 pl us an nex

. Det a i l s , wi t h
a m en d m en t 3 9 1 L 0 692 , at: h ttp ://eu r o p a .eu.in t/eu r lex / en /lif/d at/19 7 9 / en_3 79 L09 2 3

. h t m l

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J11EH D. 19 80. A Study of Di s e ase Inci denc e a n d Recrea tion a l Wa ter Qua lity in th e Grea t Lakes. Phase I. R e p o r t 8 1

- E H D

- 6 7. En vi r onm ent a l Health Directorate, Health Protection B r an c h , Heal th an d We l f are, Ot t a wa, C a nada ( p re par e d by Th e Un iv ersity of To ron t o )

. A pr ospective studyusing 6, 166 inter v iews, of who m 65%
were s w i m m e rs at lake beaches. S w i m m e rs w e re found to have higher m o r b idity r i sks. M a in featur e was evidence of bather

- t obather tr ans m issio n of in fections ( s tr ongest association was with Staphylococci ).
El-Shar k awi F, Hassan MN E R

. 1979. The relatio n b e tween th e state of po llu tio n in Alexan dria s w imming beac he s and t h e occurrence of

t yph oi d am ong bat h ers

. Bulletin o f

th e Hi gh In stitu te o f Pub lic Hea lth o f

Alexa nd ria IX : 3 37– 51

. (Reprin t ed b y th e Al ex andria Un iv ersity Press, 198 0.) Rep o rt ob tain ab le fro m G McBrid e, NI WA , Ham i lton , New Zealan d

. Reports on a 1976 r e tr ospective study of hospital inpatie nts. Concludes that “t h e r e is a si gnificant r i sk of contr acting T yphoid fr o m bathing in the polluted water and the m o stly affected wer e the young age gr ou p”

. Sewer outfalls dischar g ed
raw m a te rial dir ect ly to so m e beaches

. Ellio t EL, C o lw ell RR. 1 985. Ind i cato r organ i sm s fo r est u arine an d m a rine wat e rs. FEM S Microbi ology Reviews 32 : 61– 79

. Docu m e nts findin g the pr esence of pathogens in water s and shellf ish when f a e cal colif or m s a r e e ither absent or in l o w nu m b er s.
Ellio tt AH. 1 9 9 8

. Pred ictio n o f illn ess risk near ocean outfalls using fre qu enc y distributions of b acterial con c en tration s

. W a ter Rese arch 32( 10 ) : 3 182 –7

. Pr esents a m e thod for co m b ining tem por al concentr ation fr equencydistr i bution with a c oncentr ation–r esponse r e lation to obtain an averaged illness ra te , applie d to North Shore ( A uckland)

. Ellis JC, Lacey RF. 1980. Sa m p l i ng: de fini ng the t a sk an d pl anni ng th e schem e

. Wa ter Po llu tio n C

ont r o l 79 : 4 5 2 –67 ; d i scu ssi o n : 48 2–4

. W i de review of sam p ling pr ogr a m m e design. Discusses statistics of assessing co m p liance wit h percentile standa rds, where the per centil e ref e rs to a percen tage of ti m e (not o f
sa m p l e s). EU. 19 9 4

. Pr op osal fo r a C o unci l Di rect i v e co n c ern i ng th e qu ality o f b a thin g water. Officia l Jo urna l o f th e Eu ro p e an C o mmun ities

. N o

. C 11 2 / 3 –10 . Av ailab l e at: http ://eu r op a.eu .in t/eu r lex / en /co m /d at/1 99 4 / en_59 4PC0 036 .h tml. Clar ifies m e thod of co m p liance asses s m ent and pr oposes revised quality require m e nts based o n E. co li , f aecal str e ptococci, enterovir u ses ( b acter iophages m e ntioned, but no lim its ar e pr oposed)

. Co m p liance is to be assessed usin g lookup tables ( e

. g

. for an im per a tiv e standar d , 95% per centile ar e assessed by allowi ng no exceedances in 19 sa m p les, on e exceedance in between 20 and 39 sam p l e s, et c). The i m

p e rative 95% pe rcentile li m its for E. co li and f aecal str e ptococci ar e 2000 and 40 0 pe r 100 m L r e spectively , and for enter ovir u ses it r e m a ins at 0 pfu/10 L

. Fattal B, Vasl RJ, Katzen elson E, Shu v a l HI. 1 983

. Su rv iv al of b act eri a l i n di cat or o r gani s m s an d en teric v i ru ses i n th e Med iterran e an co astal waters o ff Tel- Avi v
. W a ter R e searc h 17: 3 97– 402

. Reports ‘ d ie- a way’ studies on colifor m s and enter i c viruses of

fshor e fr o m T e l Aviv. Concen trati ons of total coliform s , f aecal colif or m s an d f aecal streptococci wer e cor r elated with enter ovir u s concentr ations ( t hough no t all corr elations wer e statistically signif i cant). Faecal strep t ococci displayed a si m ila r die-awa yra te to en teroviruses; the other bacte r ia r e duced m o re quickly . About 76% of positive enterovirus sa m p les we re f o und at beaches within ‘s af e’ levels , as indicated.
Fattal B, Peleg-Olev sk y E, Yo shp e -Pu r er Y, Sh uval H I

. 1 9 8 6

. The ass o ci at i on bet w ee n m o rb id ity a m o n g b a t h ers and micro b i al qu ality o f seawater. W a te r Sci e nce an d Tech nology 18( 11 ) : 5 9–6 9. Reports a prospective epide m iol ogical study at thre e T e l Aviv coastal beaches in 1983, co m p rising 2,231 persons (23 % below four y ear s of age)

. Str ongest findin g was sy m p to m s of enter i c m o r b iditya m ong swim m e r s , particular ly the 0–4- y e ar - o lds, related to elevat ed levels of enterococci, E. c o l i and staphylococci (not f aecal colif or m s ). Swi m m e rs had m o re m o rbidity of all t ypes of sym p to m s (enter ic, r e spir atory, other s ) than non- swim m e rs. Fattal B, Peleg- O l ev sk y E, Ag ur sk y T, Sh uval H I

. 1987. T h e ass o ciation bet w e e n seaw ater pollution
as m easured by bacterial ind i cato r s andm o rb id ity
am ong bat h ers at M e di t e rrane an bat h i n g bea c hes of

Is rael. C h e m os phere 16 (2/3 ) : 5 65– 70

. A br iefer descr i ption of the 19 83 stu d ythan that given byFattal et al ( 1986)

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J12Fattal B, Peleg-Olev sk y E, Cab e lli VJ. 1 991

. Bathers as a possible s o urce of c ontam ination for swimmin g - asso ciatedilln ess at m a rin e b a t h in g beache s

. In tern a tiona l Jou r na l o f En viro nmen ta l Hea lth Resea r ch 1 : 204 –14

. Furt her analy s is of the 1983 study

. Notes that the best association between an indicator and swi m m e rs’ illness is with Staphyloc o ccus au reus (rather than e n terococcus or E. c o li ), suggestin g bather

- t o- bather c ontam in ation as a do m i nant
m e chanis m

. Fave ro M S

. 1 9 8 5

. M i cr obi o l ogi cal i n di cat ors o f health risks ass o ciat ed with swimmin g

. Ame r ic a n Jo urna l o f

Public Hea lth 75 (9) : 105 1–3

. Reviews the histor yof this topic up to 1985 ( S ey fr ied et al’ s papers were in this issue). No tes that f aecal colif or m s may now be r e gar d ed as “r elativelyusel ess for judgin g the safety of natural bathing waters”. Note s also the USE P A pr o m ulgated a pr oposal that the cr iter i a be set at 20 enter o cocci per 10 0 m L o r 77 E. co li per 100 m L for fr eshwater s or onlythr e e enterococci per 100 m L for m a r i ne water s (Fed e r a l Reg i ster M a y1 984, 49( 102) : 21 987 –8)

. T h ese lim i ts were r e vised upwar d after feedback fr o m pr o f essionals, m a n yo f who m suggested that the pr oposed lim its wer e too str i ngent ( Federal R e gister Febr uar y 1986, 51( 4 5 ) : 801 2–16)

. Fayer R, Gr aczyk TK , Lew i s EJ, Tr ou t JM, Farley CA. 1998. Survi v al of infectious Cryp to spo r id ium p a r vum ooc y sts in seaw ater an d Eastern oysters ( Crassostrea vi gi ni ca ) i nt h e Chesapea ke Bay. Ap p lied and En viro nm en tal Microbi ology 6 4 (3 ) : 1 070 –4

. Oocysts placed in artif icial seaw ater were inf ectious f o r up to 12 weeks. O y sters sa m p led fr o m natur a l water s contained inf

ectious oocysts and can serve as mechanical vectors o f this
or ganis m

. Fer gus o n C M , C oot e B G , As hbol t NJ, St even so n AM

. 19 9 6

. R e l a t i ons hi ps bet w ee n in d i cators, p a t h og en s and water qu ality in an estuarine system

. Water Rese arc h 30 (9 ): 20 45

– 5 4

. W a ter and sedim e nt sam p ling fo r a range of indicator s and pathogens is r e ported for an ur ban estuar yin Sy dney, Austr a lia. Signif i cant increases of f

aecal colif orm s , f aecal streptoc occi, Clostridium perfri ngens spor es, F- RNA bacter iophage, A e romonas sp p ., Giardia and Crypto s poridium sp p. occur r e d in the water af

ter rain, but only f aecal co lif or m s showed signif i cant increases in the sedi m e nts

. Isolations of enteric vir

u ses wer e spor adic and not exclusi v ely rel a ted to wet weather events. C. perfringens was identified as the m o st usef ul indicator of f

aecal pollution. Ferley JP, Zm i r ou D, Bal du c ci F, Baleux B, Fera P, Larbaigt G, Jac q E , Moissonnie r B , Blin eau A, B o u d o t J. 19 89

. Ep id em io lo g i cal si gni fi cance of m i crobi ol o g i cal pol l u t i oncri t eri a fo r river rec r ea tional wate rs. In tern a tiona l Jo u r na l

o f

Ep id emio logy 18 : 198 –20 5. Reports a r e tr ospective 1986 f o llow- up studyin the Ardèche basin using 5 737 t our ists in eight hol idayca m p s. Found a
r e lative r i sk of 2. 3 ( 95% CI = 1. 7–3. 2) for “objective” gastrointestinal cases (requires vo m iti ng or diarrhoea). Faecal str e ptococci wer e best cor r e late d to m o rbidity, with threshold 20 per 100 m L

. Fewtrell L, G o df ree AF, J one s F, Kay D, S a l m o n RL, W y er MD

. 1 992 . Health effects of white-water c anoei n g. The Lancet 33 9 : 15 87 –9

. Reports a pr ospective cohort st udyusing 516 canoeists on two channels with diffe r e nt degr ees of pollution: ar ith m e tic m e an enterovirus 198 an d 0 pfu/L and geo m e t ri c m ean faecal coliform s 285 and 22/dL for str e am s A and B. Between five and seven day s after exposur e canoeists using str e am A had significantlyhighe r incidences of gastr o intestinal and upper respiratorysy m p tom s than either can oeists using strea mB or
non- expo sed contr o ls ( s pectator s)

. Fewtrell L, Kay D, Salm on RL, W y e r M D , Newm an G , B o we rin g G. 19 94

. The health effects o f low-co n t act water activ ities in fresh an d estu arin e waters. Jou r na l o f th e In stitu tion of Wat e r an d Env i ron m e n ta l M a nage ment 8 : 97 –10 1. Four studies wer e car r i ed out at separate locations (two fr eshwater and two estuar ine) using about 10 00 participants in
m a ra thons and canoeing. Geo m et ric m e an faecal coliform s
r a nged fr o m 62 to 4613 per 100 m L

. Co m p ar ison of exp o sed and unexp osed gr o ups five – se ven day s after exposur e showed
m i ni m a l health ef f ects f o r the low wa ter-contact sports. Figue ras MJ , P o lo F, I n za I , G u ar ro J. 1997. Past, p r esen t an d fu t u re p e rsp ectiv es of th e EU b a th ing water d i rectiv e. Ma rin e Po llutio n Bu lletin 34 (3 ) : 1 48– 56

. Reviews r easons put for w ar d for changes to the 1976 st andar d s (EEC 1976) and recent proposals.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J13Fi gue ras M J , R obe rt so n W, Pi ke EB , A s hb o l t NJ, Bo rr ego JJ. 200 0. San itary i n sp ection an d micro b i o l o g i cal water qu ality. In : J Bartram , G Rees (e ds). Mon ito ring Bath in g Wa ters: A p r actica l gu id e to th e d e sign an d imp l emen tatio n of a ssess ment s an d m oni t o ri n g pro g ra mme s. Lon don , E & FN Spo n s , 1 13–6 7. Pub lish e d o n behal f of t h e Wo rl d Heal th Or gani zat i on, Co mmissio n of th e Eu rop ean Co mm u n ities a n d US E n vi r onm ent a l Pr ot ect i o n Age n cy

. Fleisher JM, M c Fadden RT. 1980. O b taini n g p r ecise esti m a t e s in co liform en u m eratio n

. Water Researc h 14 : 47 7–8 3. Ar gues for incr easing pr ecision in colif or m enu m er ations by
r e plication of sam p ling.

F l eish er JM. 19 85

. I m pl i cations o f c o l i f or

m
v a riab ility in th e assessm en t o f th e san itary q u a lity
o f

recreatio n a l waters. Jo urna l o f H y

g i en e ( C

ambri d ge) 9 4 : 193 –20 0. Reanalysed Ne w York colif or m co m p li ance data, showing the im

p act of lack of pr ecision. W ithin- d ayvar i ations wer e identified.
Fleisher JM. 1990a. C o nducting recreati ona l water qu ality su rv eys: So m e p r ob lem s an d sug g est e d rem e di es. Marin e Po llu tion Bu lletin 2 1 (2 ) : 5 62– 7. Discusses need to account for m easurem ent er r o r and tem poral within- d ayvar i abilityof m i cr obiologi cal exam inations. Ar gues it is better to m a xi m i se replications i n stead of sa m p le d a tes.
Fleish er JM. 19 90b

. Th e effe cts of m easurement
erro r on p r ev iou s ly rep o rted math e m atica l rel a t i ons hi ps b e tw een i ndi cat or o r gani sm densi t y an d swimm i n g asso ciated illness: a qu an titativ e esti m a te o f th e resu lting b i as. In tern a tiona l Jo urna l o f Ep i d em i o log y 1 9 (4 ) : 11 00– 6. Uses co m puter si mulations to de m onstrate the ef f ect of
m e asur e m ent er r o r on indicator –health r i sk r e lationships. Under e stim ation o f health r i sks was s hown. Reco m m en dations for

futur e studydesigns wer e m a de. Fleisher JM. 1991. A re-analysis of data
suppo rting US fed e ral b a cterio log i cal water q u a lity criteria governing m a rine recreatio n a l waters. Researc h J o ur nal WPC F 6 3 (3 ) : 25 9–6 5. Criticises the U S E P A crit eria for including brackish water (Lake Ponchart rai n , Louisiana), and reanalyses the data using logistic regression. So m e aspects of the reanalysis are al so open to questio n inour opinion ( e spe c ially the weight p u t on Boston data bey o n dtheir r a nge)

. F l eish er JM. 19 92

. U S Fede ral bacteriol ogi cal water qu ality stan d ard s: a re-an a lysis. In : D Kay (ed ) Recrea tion a l Wa ter Qu ality Ma na g e men t

. Vo l. 1
, Coa s ta l Wa ters

. New York, Ellis H o rw oo d, 1 13– 28

. Criticises the U S E P A crit erion’s basi s for incorporating three dif

f e rent relationships (f or the three b eaches) developed by the author , using logis tic r e gr ession.
Fleish er JM, Jon e s F, K a y D, Mo r an o R. 199 3. Settin g recreati o n a l water qu ality criteria. In: D K a y and R H a nbu ry ( e ds)

. Recreational Water Qua lity Mana gemen t . Vo l. 2

. Fresh Wa ter . New Y o rk, Ellis H o rwo o d , 123– 36. I d entifies sour ces of bias pr obablyin cor por ated in pr evious epidem iological studies, and pr o m otes m e thods to m i nim i se the m

. Fleisher JM, J o nes F , Kay D, Stanwell-Sm ith R, W y er M D , M o r a no R. 1 993

. W a ter and no nwater related risk factors for gastroe n teritis a m ong bat h e r s e x p o se d t o se wage co nt am i n at ed m a ri ne waters. In terna tio na l Jo urnal o f

Ep id emio lo g y 22 : 6 98– 708

. Finds thr ee faults in pr evious epidem iological studies, b e ing failures to: account for within-d ayan d spatial variabilit yat beaches, relat e indicator concentr atio n to an individual bather, and r i gor ouslycontr o l non- water

- r e lated r i sk factor s. R e sults of two “inter venti o n follow- up stu d ies” ( c ontr o lled- cohort tr ials) ar e r e ported. T h ese wer e at L a ngland Bay( 109 bather s and 124 n on-bathe r s) and More ton Beach (97 bathers a nd 154 non-bathers). Fae cal streptococci (a nd not faecal coliform s )
were associated wi th bathers’ gastroi n testinal illness, and only for

chest- depth sam p les ( t wo shallower sa m p ling depths wer e used): “ e xcess risk a m ong bathers did not occur until exposure to waters containin g 40–5 9 faecal stre ptococci/100 m L ”

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J14Fl ei sher JM , K a y D, Sal m on R L , J ones F, W y e r M D , G o df ree AF. 1996. Marine wat e rs contam inated with dom estic sewa ge, non-e n teric illn esses asso ciatedwith b a t h er ex po su re in t h e U n ited K i n gdom

. Ameri c an J our n a l of Pu bl i c Hea lth 86( 9) : 1 228 –34

. Reports on r e sults fr o m all four UK contr o lled- cohort studies using 12 16 healthyadult volunteer s ( a ver a ge age about 32 years). Intensive wate r-qua lity m o nitoring was used to assign possi ble health- r i sk indicat or s (all bacter ia) to individual bathers. Fa ecal st reptoco cci exposur e (threshold 60 per 100 m L ) was pr edictive of acute febr ile r e spir atoryillness (which m u st inclu d e fever), while faecal coliform exposure ( t hr eshold 100 per 100 m L ) was pr edictive of ear ail m en ts. Bathers wer e at higher risk f o r eye ai l m ents. Fleisher JM, K a y D, Wyer MD, Me rrett H. 1996. Th e en tero v i rus test in th e assessm en t o f recreation a l water-asso c iatedg a stro en teritis. Water Rese arc h 3 0 (1 0) : 234 1– 6. Uses polychoto m o u s logistic re gression on 2066 parallel f aecal str e ptococci and enter ovir u s enu m erations fr o m 416 UK locations. Found that the actual vir u s e s enu m er ated bythe assay a r e not aetiol ogically rel a ted to recre a tional wate rassociated gastroenteritis. Suggest t h at enterovirus assay m a y be of li m i t e d use i n assessing m a rine recreational wate r quality. Fleisher JM, K a y D, Wyer MD, G o dfree A F

. 1 998

. Estim at es of th e sev e ri ty o f illn esses asso ciated with b a th i n g in m a rin e recreation a l waters c o ntam inated with domestic sewage. In tern a tiona l Jo u r na l o f

Ep i d emio log y 27 : 72 2–6

. Reviews findings of the fo ur UK contr o lled- cohort tr ials. Concludes that “ill ness associat ed with bathing in m a r i ne water s conta m inated with do m e stic s e wage can no longer be viewed as m i nor, and indeed can hav e a substantial im p act on the public health”.

Fo ulo n G, M a u r in J , Qu oi N, M a rtin-Boy e r G. 1 983

. Relatio nsh i p b e t w een th e m i cro b i al qu ality of water and health effects. Revue F r anc a ise des Sci e nces de L’ Ea u 2 : 127 –43

. Beach interviews o f 4,921 person s at five coastal beaches were followed byan answer car d( only 1532 per s ons did so)

. T h e studyindicates that an answer car d s y stem should be avoided. See also the r e view byShuval ( 1986)

. Frase r GG, Cooke KR

. 1991. E p idem ic giardiasis and m uni ci pal wat e r s u ppl y
. Ameri c a n J o ur nal of Pub lic Hea lth 8 1 (6 ) : 7 60– 2. Co m p ar es reported r a tes of gi ar diasis in Dunedin ( N ew Z ealand) for two 1 0 -m onth per i ods. T h e cityhad two water supplies, one “un f i lter e d” ( m icr o str a ined, 23 μ m ) and th e other
a m odern plant wit h dual filters (anthracite and silica sa nd). Found incidence r a te- r a tio of 3. 3 ( 90% CI = 1. 1, 10. 1, 49 cases)

. A par a llel case-contr o l studyfound an od ds r a tio of 1. 8 ( 90% CI = 0. 5, 6. 5)

. T h ese results do not achieve

“ s tatistical signific a nce” at the 95% l e vel, but are suggestive of tr ans m ission of Giardia via water

. Fu rf ar i SA. 196 8. H i sto r y o f

th e 70 MPN/100 m L standard . Me m o , Northeast Marine Health Serv ices Lab o rato ry , U S A

. Docu m e nts the histor yof the 70 M P N per 100 m L shellfishgather ing water standar d , as us ed by t h e US Public He al th Ser v ice. T h e calcu lation was based on a r e quir e m e nt th at no
m o re than 50% of 1 m L porti ons we re positive for coliform s , equivalent to an M P N of about 70 per 100 m L

. ( A vailable only f r o m G McBride, NI WA, Ha m ilton, New Zealand.)
Gam e son ALH , G o ul d DJ. 19 75

. Ef fect s o f sol a r rad i ation o nthe m o rtalit y o f so m e terrestrial bacteria in sea water. In: AL H Gam e son (e d) Di sch a r g e of S e w age f r o m Se a Out f

a l l s

. Perg am o n Pr ess, Oxf o r d an d N e w Yo rk , 209 –19

. Rate of die- off o f coliform s in wa ter i s m u ch greate r in d a ylight than in the dark. Die-off of E. co li was slower than that of total coliform s . Reports sem i nal wor k on this topic.
Gam e so n ALH. 1 979

. EEC directiv e on qu ality of bat h i n g wat e r. Wa ter Po llu tio n Con t ro l 78 ( 2 ): 2 06– 14

. Notes so m e pra c tic al difficulties in i m ple m enting the EE C Dir ective ( E E C 1976)

. Geldreich EE. 19 78 . Bacteri a l p opu latio n s an d indicator c once p ts in feces , se wage , st orm w ater and s o lid wastes. In: G Be rg (ed ) In di cato rs of Viruses i n W a te r and F o od

. An n Ar b o r Sci e nce, A n n A r bo r, Mich ., 51– 97

. Substantial review of literature up to t h e late 1970s.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J15Gi bs onC J , St a d t e rm an KL, States S, Sy kora J. 1 998

. Co m b inedsew e r ov er flo w s: a sour ce o f Cryp to spo r id ium an d Gi ar di a. W a t e r Sci e nc e a n d Tech nology 38( 12 ) : 67 –72

. Co m b ined over f lows were found to c ontr i bute both par a sites in dr

yand ( p articularly ) wet weather.
Gilb ert R O

. 19 87

. Stat i s t i c a l Met ho ds f o r En vironmen t a l Po llu tion Monito rin g
. Van Nost ran d Rei n hol d, Ne w Yo r k

. T h is is an excellen t book on m a ny as pects of statistical inter p r e tation of pollution data. Part icular lystr ong on the lognorm a l distr i bution, which is of ten f o llowed by m i cr obiological particles.
Godfree A, J o nes F, Kay D. 1990. Recreati o nal water qu ality: t h e m a n a g e m e n t o f env i ro n m en tal health risks ass o ciated with se wage disc harges. Ma rin e Po llu tio n Bu lletin 9 : 4 14– 22

. Reviews past studies and clai m s the 1986 USE P A “standar d s” do not have a firm scientific fou ndati on.
G ood m a n SN

. 19 93

. p val u e s , hy pot hesi s t e st s, an d lik eliho o d : i m p licatio n s fo r ep i d em io lo g y o f a negl ect e d hi st o r i cal de bat e

. Am erican Jou r na l o f Ep id emio lo g y 1 37( 5) : 485 –96

. Discusses valid and invalid conc lusio n s fro m significance tests and hypothesis tests.
Gra b ow WO K , I d em a GK, C o ub r o u g h P , Bate m a n B W

. 19 89 . Selecti o n of i n d i cator syste m s for hum an viruse s in p o llu tedseawater
an d sh ellfish

. Wat e r Sci e nce an d Tech n o l o g y 2 1 (3 ) : 1 11– 17

. Analy s ed 610 sam p les of sewage, polluted seawater and shellfish. Ratios of indicator s:vir u ses var i ed consider ably

. Reco mm ends sa mple m e dians of 100 f aecal colif or m s p e r 100 m L , 40 faecal streptococci per 100 m L , 50 coliphages per 100 m L , 0 hu m a n vir u ses per 10 L

. Gree n DH , Le wis G D

. 1999. Com p arative detection of e n teric viruses i n wastewaters, sedi m e nt s and oy st ers by re ve rse t r an sc ri pt i o nPCR andcell cu ltu re. W a ter Researc h 33 (5 ): 1 195 –20 0. Reports results f r om eight occasions over a 12- m onth period
ar ound Auckland’ s M a nger e tr eat m e n t plant. E n ter ovir u ses wer e found up to 2 76 pf u per L in the final effluent, bein g highest in winter and spr i ng ( f o u r sam p les wer e less than detection li m it). T h ey we re also present in m o st sedi m e nt
sa m p l e s and in three oy ste r sa m p l e s. Rotavirus was pre s ent in
m o st final effluent and oy ster sa m p les , and in one sedim e nt
sa m p l e

. Hepatitis A virus was confirm e d in seven sedi m e nt
sam p les, but not in anyfinal effluent or oy ster sam p les.
Grim es DJ. 1991. Ecol ogy of estuar ine bact eria capable of ca using hum a n dis ease: a re view. Estu aries 14( 4) : 345 –60

. Reviews cur r e nt k nowledge concer ning A

. cinetobacter, A e romonas, Clostr idium, E n terobacter, F l avobacterium, Legionella, Listeria, P l eisi omonas, Pseudomon as and V i brio

. Gri m ont F, G r i m ont PAD , R i char d C

. 19 9 2

. T h e genu s Klebsiella

. I n : A Balows et al (eds) Th e Prok ary o t e s , 2n d ed. Spr i ng er -V er lag , N e w Y o r k , 2 673 –4

. Discusses Klebsiella species as inf ectious particles.
Gr ohm annG S , As hb ol t NJ, G e no va M S , L o ganG , C o x P, K u e h C S W

. 19 9 3

. D e t ect i on of vi r u ses i n co astal and river water system s in Syd n e y, Au st ralia. W a te r Sci e nce an d Tech nology 27( 3–4 ) : 4 57– 61

. I s olated enter ovir u ses, adenovi r u ses and r e ovir u ses. Data suggest “long- term sur v ival of vir u ses in sedim e nts and/or contam ination fr o m other s ources such as stor m wate r discharge”. Since the use of deep ocean outf a lls there w a s a decrease in the nu m b er of positiv e seawater sa m p les close to the beaches, wher e a s in stor mw ater drains viral presenc e
r e m a ined constant. Haas C N , R o se JB, Ger b a CP

. 1999. Qu an tita tive Microbi al Risk Assess ment

. W iley , Ne w Y o r k

. Authoritative reference for this ne w field of r i sk m odelling, and associated techniques.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J16Haile R W , Alamil lo J, Barrett K, Cressey R , Derm on d J, Er vin C , Glasser A, Har a wa N, Harm o n P, Harp er J, McGee C, Millik an R C , N i d e s M, W itt e JS. 1996

. An Ep id emio lo g i ca l Study of P o ssi ble A d verse He alth Effects of Sw i mmi n g i n S ant a M o ni ca B a y
. Santa Monica B a y R e st orat i o n P r o j ect

. Fi na l R e po rt , 7 M ay ( s u m m a ry d a ted O c tob e r 1996 ). Reports a lar g e- s c ale epidem iological studyof head- i m m e r s ing bathers ai m e d at e v aluating the possi ble adverse health ef f ects of urban run-o ff. So m e 11,793 successful follow-up in terviews
were co m p leted wi th beach a ttenders, and daily ankle-de pth water sa m p les wer e analysed f o r f aec al colif or m s , ente r o cocci and E. co li . Findings include: ( i ) an incr eased r i sk of illness ( about 1%) associated with swi m m i n g near flowing stor m dr ain outlets ( b ased on g r oups swim m i ng at and 400 y a r d s fr om drains); (ii) an in creased risk of illne ss associated with swi m m i ng in areas with high dens ities of bacterial indicators; (iii) the total colifor m to faec al coliform ratio w a s one of the better indicators for predicting h ealth risk; (iv) illnesses were reported m o re often on days when sa m p l e s we re positive for enteric viruses.

H a ll A J , Rodr ig u e s LC. 1 992. H ealth r i sk s associated with bathi n g in sea water. British Medi c al J

o urn a l 302 : 572

. A letter to the editor faulting Bala r a jan et al ( 1991) for lack of detail on a nu m b er of issues ( p r e - publicity , influence of nonowner s hip of telep hones, form s of im m e r s ion, accountin g for possible con f ou nd er s) . I n r e ply ( s a m e page) the author s clar ified aspects of these questions ( e .g. explaining how they
m i ni m i sed pre- publicityso as to avoid enhanced self- r e porting of sym p to m s )

. T h eynoted that their m a in finding was a “doser e sponse effect of differ e nt f o rm s of contact with sea water : those bathing activities that en tailed m o re i m m e rsion u s ually resulted in m o re sym p to m s being rep o rted”.

Har r in gto n J F , W ilc ox D N , Gi les PS, As hbolt NJ, Ev an s JC, K i r t o nH C

. 19 93

. Th e h ealth of Sy dney s u rfe rs : an e p i d em i o l ogi cal st udy

. Water S

c ien ce an d Tech no log y 27 (3– 4 ) : 1 75– 81

. Reports a 90-day , six-beach studyw h erein 2003 recruits
r e tur n ed 4011 ques tionnair es incor por ating 43, 175 swimm i ng events. Overall , s w i m m e rs reported illness 1.63 ti m e s m o re often than non-swimme rs. Rela tive ri sks for total illness in
m a les rose f r o m 1. 79 in high-f r equency beach s w i m m e r s , to 2.26 when their sw i m s at non-ocean sites were included. No firm health- b ased risk thr e shold was reported. H e n s h ilwoo d K , G r een J, Lees DN

. 199 3. M oni t o ri n g t h e m a ri ne envi ro nm ent for sm all
r oun d stru ctu r ed v i ru ses ( S RSV s ) : a n e w appr o a ch to co m b atin g th e tran sm issio n o f th ese v i ru ses b y m o lluscan s h el lfish. Wa ter Scien ce and Tech nology 38( 12 ) : 51 –6

. Shellfish wer e m easur ed ever y 1–2 weeks over a 14-m o nth per i od for SRSVs. Concentr ations wer e highest in winter , when oyster-associated gastrointe stinal illness is at i t s peak. Sequence analysis identif ied 11 SRS V strains. Virus
m onitor i ng of shellfish is now possi bl e.
Ho lm es PR. 19 89 . Research in to h ealth risk s at bath i n g beac he s i n Ho n g Ko n g

. Jo ur n a l of t

h e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter a n d En viro nmen ta l Ma nage ment 3: 4 88– 95

. Partial presentation of r e sults of the 1987 Hon g Kong s tudy ( s ee Cheung et al 1 990)

. Horwitz MS

. 1990. A d e n oviruses

. In: B N Fields et al (eds ) Vi r o l ogy , 2nded

. Rav e n Pr ess, New Y o r k , 1 723– 43. Describes this viru s, which can cause significant respiratory illness.
IAWPRC. 1991. Bacteriopha g es as m odel viruses in water q u a lity co n t ro l. In : AH Hav e laar (ed ) Stu d y Group on Health RelatedWater M i crobi ol o g y
. Water Resear ch 2 5 : 52 9–4 5. Reviews possible use of F- specific RNA phages and phages of Bacteroides fragilis as vir u s sur r ogates. Usefulness of so m a tic coliphages is co m p ro m i sed by their a b ility to m u ltipl yi n f r eshwater.
Ikram R, Ch am b e rs S, Mitchell P, Briesem a n MA, I k

r a m O H

. 199 4. A case co ntr o l stud y to determ ine risk factor s f o r C a mpylob act e r i n fectio n in Chr i stchu r ch in th e su mm e r o f 19 92– 93

. New Zeala n d Me di c a l Jo ur n a l 107: 4 30– 2. A studyai m e d at deter m ining the r i sk factor s for acquir i ng Campylobacter in f ection in Chr i stchur ch in the 1992/93
su m m er found eating under c oo ked ch icken away fr o m h o m e is
a m a jor factor , but also dr inking water fr o m a non- ur ban supply

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J17Jo nes F, K a y D

. 198 9. Bat h in g w a ter s and h ealth st

udi es. Wa ter S e rvices 93 : 87 –9

. Raises questions about the Cabelli studies (between-sit e range of illness rates, use of telephone surve yrather than m e di cal follow- up, lack of contr o l of length o f swim , lack of inform ation on alte rnative m odes of infection)

. Opined that USA results m a y n o t be transferable t o UK.

Jon e s F , Kay D, Stan well-S m ith R, W y er M

. 1 990

. An app r aisal o f t

h e po ten tial h ealth i m p acts of

sewa ge di s p osal t o U K c o a s t a l wat e rs. Jou r na l

o f

th e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter and En viro nm en tal Ma nage ment 4: 2 95– 303

. Clai m s that North A m e r ican epide m i o logical studies are not scientificallyr obust, leaving a “r esearch vacuu m ”, such that UK studies should proceed (pilot controlled cohort studies had been car r i ed out in 1989 at L a ngland Bayin W a les )

. Jon e s F , Kay D, Stan well-S m ith R, W y er M

. 1 991

. Resu lts o f th e first p ilot-scale con t ro lled
co hort ep i d em i o log i cal inv e stig atio n in to p o s sib l e h ealth effects of b a th ing i n sea water at Lan g l an d Bay, Swan sea. Jou r n a l o

f th e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter
an d Envi r o n m e n ta l M a nage m e nt 5 : 91 –8

. Reviews the 1989 contr o lled- cohort pilot study

. Notes that
r e sponses to their detailed m e dical questionnair e r e sulted in higher reported att ack rates of percei ved illness for bot h bathers and non- bather s. So m e statistically significant r e sults wer e reported for percei ved illness, which were not confirm e d by clinical tests. Concludes f u ll-scale studies are desirable

. Jones N, Grah a m J. 1995. Outbrea k of g a stro en teritis asso ciated with o y sters: a No rwalklike virus m o st likely cause. Th e New Zea l an d Pub lic Hea lth Repo rt 2(3 ) : 25 –7

. T h irty- s ix of 95 pe ople attending a Chr i stm a s part yin Dece m b e r 1994 developed a gastroint e stinal illness. E p idem iological and m i cr obiologi cal investigation indic a ted that oysters conta m in ated with a No rwalk-like virus w e re the
m o st likely cause of infection. T h e oy ster s wer e all probably fr o m aBayof I s lands fa rm

. Kay D. 19 88

. Co astal b a t h ing water: th e ap p lication o f water qu ality stan d ard s to Welsh beache s

. Ap pl i e d Geo g ra phy 8 : 117 –34

. Co m p a r es relative utility of Eu ropean and North A m eric an standards to Welsh beach data. Equat e s f aecal colif or m s to E. coli. Kay D, McDon a ld A. 1 986 a. Co astal b a th i n g water qu ality. Jo urna l o f

Shorelin e Mana g e m e n t 2 : 259 –83

. Notes the need f o r very la rge sa m p les to identify statisti cally significant relation s hips. Critic ises th e PHLS (1959) and MRC ( 1959) findi ngs as infer e nces going far bey ond the data gathered (which w a s for two severe n o tifiable illnesses).

K a y D, McDon a ld A

. 1 986 b. Th e r e lev an c e of ep id em io lo g i cal research i n t h e British con t ex t. Eur ope a n W a te r a n d Sew age 9 0 : 32 1–8

. Docu m e nts the U K shif t away f r o m the views expresse d by M RC ( 1959) and PHL S ( 1959)

. Notes that statistically significant trans m i ssion of m i nor illnesses could be expected even at beaches th at co m p ly with the EEC st andards.

K a y D, W y er M, McDo n a l dA , W ood s N

. 1 990

. The a p pl i cat i on of wat e r - qual i ty st andar d s t o U K b a th ing waters. Jou r na l o f

t

h e In stitu te o f

Water
an d Envi r o n m e n ta l M a nage m e nt 4 : 43 6–4 1. Analy s es data for 425 sam p ling locations. Ranks E E C , US EPA and Canadian standards f o r stringency. Equates f aecal coliform s to E. co li

. Kay D, Fleis h e r JM, Jones F, Salm on RL, W y e r M D , G o df ree AF, Zel e nauc h

- Jacq u o t t e Z, Sho r e R. 19 94. Pred ictin g t h e lik elih ood o f g a stro -en t eritis fro m sea b a th i n g : resu lts from
ran d o m i sed expos u r e. Lancet 34 4 : 90 5–9

. Reports controlled-cohort trials at four UK beaches wit h 1216 adults, including 5 48 who enter e d the water, i m m e r s ing the head three ti m e s. Adverse (gastr oint estinal) health ef f ects were identif ied when f a ecal streptoco cci ( a t chest depth) exc eeded 32 per 100 m L (be i ng the m e dian of the highest faecal streptococci band which failed to attain statistical significance). E quation used is L o g n odd (of gastroe n teritis) = √ ( F S- 32) – 2. 3561. M e dical follow- up was included. So m e 65. 7% of gastr o intestinal cases had onset dates 7–21 day s after exposur e. Non-bather gastrointestinal illness rat e was 9.7%.

K a y D, Fleish er J, W y er MD, Sal m o n RL. 20 01

. Re-a n a l y

si

s of t h e se ab at hi ng dat a f r om t h e UK randomise d tri a ls

. A re po rt t o DETR, Abe ry s twy th, Uni v ersity o f Wales, Ce ntre fo r Research into Environm ent and Health.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J18Koe n raad PMF , Rom b outs F M , N o term ans SH W. 19 9 7

. E p i d em iol o gi cal aspect s o f th e r m ophi l i c Campylobacter in water-relat e den v i ron m en ts: a revie w
. Water Envir o nme n t Researc h 69 (1 ): 5 2–6 3. Risk analysis indicates that th e contr i bution o f contam in ated
recre a tional wate r to hu m a n inf ections m a y be gr eater than pr eviouslyassu m e d. “T he contr i bution of viable b u t no nculturable Campylobacter cells in the conta m ination cyc l e has been found to be negligible.”

Kue h CS , Tam T-Y, Lee T, Wong S L , Ll oyd OL, Y u I T S, W ong TW , Tam JS, Bassett D C J. 1 995

. Epi d em i o l ogi c a l st udy of s w i m m i ng-associ a t ed illnesses relating to bathi n g-beach water qua lity. Wat e r Sci e nce an d Tech n o l o g y 31 (5– 6 ) : 1–4

. Reports results from a 1992 study at two beaches with 1 8 ,122 swim m e r s , following on fr om that in 1987 ( C heu ng et al 1990)

. Onlyswi m m e r’ s gastr o intestinal sy m p to m s wer e found to be associated with pollution level, not with f aecal colif or m s or E. coli , but with Clostridium perfringens , A e romonas spp. and V

i brio cholerae (non-O1). The study did not m easure fa ecal streptococci or ent e rococci. Lacey RF, Pi ke EB. 1989. Water recreati o n and risk. Jo urna l of th e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter a n d Environment a l Manage me nt 3 : 13– 18

. Discusses the r o le of societyin r e gulating voluntar yr i s k s, diffic u lties of m e a s uring risks via epide m iological studies, questionable pr edi c tive power of bacter ial indicator s, and identifying a satisfactory rationale for sta nda r d s for r e c r e a tiona l waters. Concludes that there is no com p l e tel ysatisfactory wa y of pr ovi ding gui dance on r ecr eational r i sk. Lacey RF, Gunby A, Hay SV. 1995. Methods of Assessing C o mpliance w ith Sta nda rds fo r the Qua lity o f

Ba t h ing Wa ters

. Final re p o rt t o the Depart m e nt of th e E nvi r o nm ent

. R e p o rt No

. D o E 38 3 7 / 1 , W a t e r R e search C e ntr e , M e dm enha m , M a rl ow , B u ck s, E ngl an d

. Addresses statistic al issues in deciding whether bathing sites conform to the i m per a tive ( I ) valu es in EU Di rective (w hich are based on 95% o f sam p les)

. Lee JV, Dawson SR, Ward S , Surm an SB, Neal KR

. 1997. Bacteriopha g es ar e a better i ndi cat o r of i l l ness rat e s t h an bact eri a am ong st
u s ers of a wh ite water cou r se fed b y a lowlan d river

. Wa ter Scien ce and Tech no log y 35 (11– 12) : 1 65– 70

. Reports r e sults fr om 473 questi onnai r es fr o m canoeists and
r a fter s. L ogistic r e gr e ssion identified F-specific RNA bacter iophages as the best m i cr obi olo g ical par a m e ter ass o ciated with the risk of gastrointestin al illness. No patte rn was f ound with other illnesse s (including re spiratory). Regular users of the course had lower risks of illness. The level of contam ination was ver y high (m edian enter o cocci = 102 per 100 m L )

. Leem ing R, Ball A, Ashb o lt N, Nich ols P. 19 9 6

. Using faecal st erols from humans and an imals to distinguish fae cal polluti on in receivi ng wate rs. Water Rese arc h 3 0 (1 2) : 289 3– 900

. Analysed up to seven replicates f o r f a ecal sa m p l e s: hen, seagull, duck, m a g p ie, Rosella, swan, pig, hu m a n. Species chosen fr o m those co m m on to both ur ban and r u r a l catch m e nts. Cats and pigs were the only ani m als with si m ila r f aecal sterol pr ofiles to hu m a ns. Ster ol finger p r i nts ar e sufficiently distinctive to be of diagnostic va lue in determ ining the or igin of f aecal pollution.
Le G u y a de r F , M i ossec L, Ha ugarrea u L, D ubo is E, Kopeck a H , Po mmep u y M

. 19 98

. R T -PC R e v al u a t i on of vi ral c ont am i n at i on i n fi ve shel l f i s h be ds ove r a 1 2 -m ont h peri od

. Wa ter S

c ien ce an d Tech no log y 38 (12 ) : 45 –50

. Five shellfish beds wer e sur v ey ed for 12 m onths. Of the 104 sam p les, 66% contained at least one vir u s. T h e two sites regularly conta m in ated by f aecal colif or m s had the highest per centage of vir u ses, but HAV was d e tected at only one site. Sa m p ling sites m e eting the criteri a for co mm e r cialisatio n showed occasional viral conta m inatio n and viruses were detected in sites wi th no f aecal colif orm conta m ination.
Lewis GD, Lou tit M W , Au stin FJ. 19 85

. Hu m a n ent e r ovi r u ses i n m a ri ne sedi m e nt s near a se wage o u t fall on th e Otago co ast. N e w Zeala n d J

our n a l of M a ri ne a n d Freshw at er Re searc h 1 9 : 18 7– 92

. Sedim e nt and beach sand sam p le s wer e collected fr o m ar ound a sewer outf a ll and t e sted f o r presence of enteroviruses and f aecal coliform s . E n ter ovir u ses wer e r ecov e r e d fr o m five of 14 sa m p les collect ed on three occasi ons and were re covered f r o m two sa m p les in which f aecal col i f o r m s were low.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J19Lewis GD, Austin FJ, Lo u tit M W , Sh arp l es K. 1 986

. En ter ovir u s r e m o v a l fro m sew a g e : t h e effective n ess of four differe n t treatm e nt plants. Water Rese arc h 2 0 : 12 91– 7. Hu m a n enter ovir u s r e m oval fr o m four sewage plants (oxidation pond, two trickling filters, sedi m e nt at ion/chlorination) s howed insigni ficant r e m o val thr ough the plan ts and poor cor r e lation with faecal coliform s , suspende d solids, pH or conductivity

. M o r e vir u ses wer e pr esent in su m m er. M a xim u m concentr ation was 2570 pf u per L

. Lewis GD, Lou tit M W , Au stin FJ. 19 86

. Ent e r ovi ruse s i n m u ssel s an d m a ri ne sedi m e nt s an d d e pu tatio n of n a tu rally accu m u latedv i ruses b y gree n-l i p pe d m u ssel s ( Pern a ca na licu l us ). Ne w Zea land Jo urna l o f Ma ri n e an d Fresh w a t er Researc h 20 : 43 1–7

. A 16-m onth sur v eyassessing the distr i bution of h u m a n enteroviruses in sedi m e nts a nd m u ssels near two sewage outfalls on the Nor t h T a r a naki coast. E n ter ovir u ses were pr esent in high nu m b er s near the New Ply m outh outfall (m axi m u m 32, 000 pfu ( 1 0 0 g) –1 of we t m u ssel tissue and 59 pfu ( 100 g) –1 of wet sed i m e n t m a ter i al). V i ru ses were re co v e red occasionally f r o m sedi m e nts and m u s s els near the Wait a r a Bor ough o u tfall. Attem p ts to depur ate the New Plym o u th
m

u ssels over eight day s wer e unsuccessful.

Lew i s G D

. 199 5. F- sp eci fic bacteriophage as an i ndi cat o r of h u m an vi r u ses i n nat u ral wat e rs and
sewa ge ef fl ue n t s i n no rthe rn New Zeal an d. Water S

c ien ce an d Tech no log y 31 (5– 6 ) : 2 31– 4. W h ile F- phage m a tched pathogen be haviour in sever a l r e spects, its low abundance in m a r i ne wate r s , u n certainty as to sour ce and detection irreg u larities pose proble m s for its use as a n indicator

. Lig h t foo t NE. 1 989

. A pro s pectiv e stud y of swimming rela ted illness at si x freshwater beaches i n S out her n O n t a ri o. U n pu bl i s he d P h D t h esi s , Uni v ersi ty o f Tor o nt o. A Cabelli-t ype stu d y, but “ h ighly cre d ible” gastrointestinal illness was not included in the an alysis (the author disagreed with the inclusion of fever in its defin ition)

. I t was concluded that ther e was “no evidence to sugges t that bacter ial count contributed to the prediction of illnes s in swi m m e rs ” (a bstract) and that “onlytenu ous cor r e lations exist, at best” ( p

. 141)

. A logistic regression m odel was f itted t o the data, finding that inter v iewer and contact per s on wer e significant con f o u nder s

. Li st on J. 1 9 9 4

. Ass o ci at i on of Vib r i o na ceae , natural toxins and parasite s with fecal indicators. I n : CR H a ck n e y an d MD Pearso n ( e d s ) En vironm en t a l In d i ca to rs and Sh ellfish Sa fety

. Ch ap m a n & Hall, N e w Yor k

. Notes str ong evidence for vibr ios being indigen ous to e s tuar ies. No useful cor r e lation between vibr ios or P l esiomonas and f aecal indicators has been f ound f o r s h ellf ish. Natural t oxins are, and should be, co m p letel yi ndependent of testin g for faecal contam ination. As socia tion between par a sites ( Giardia and Cryptosporidium ) is “ m oot until there is substantial evidence of actual par a site infection byone of these or ganis m s or an yother (e.g

. E n tamoeba histolytica ) parasite where the vehicle i s
m o lluscan shellfish”.

Lou tit M. 1985

. Th e fate of certain b acteria and h eav y m e tals i n sew a g e d i schar g edt h ro ugh an ocean outfall. Procee di n g s of t

h e A u st ra la si an C

onf ere n ce on C oast a l a n d O cean E ngi neeri n g , Vol. 1, C h ristc h urc h , Decem ber, pp. 211–19. Spo n s ored b y In stitu tio n of En g i n eers, Australia, In stitu tion o f Profession al Eng i n e ers, New Zealan d, Nation a l W a ter an d So il Con s erv a t i o n Or gani sat i on. Bacter ia could be detected in sedim e nts up to 8 k m fr o m Dunedin’s Lawyer ’s Head outf a ll. O n occasion E. co li could be detected in the sedim e nts but not in the water.

Mar i ñ o FJ, Moiñ ig o MA, Martin ez- Man z an ar es E, B o r r eg o JJ

. 1 9 95a . M i cr o b i o l ogi cal epi d em i o l ogi c a l st udy of sele cted m a rine be aches in Malag a (Sp a in ). W a t e r Sci e nce an d Tech nology 3 1 (5 –6 ) : 5– 9. Reports a three- ye ar study at two beaches. Skin infections wer e found to be associ ated with levels of P s eudomonas aer u ginosa , Candid a albican s and A e romonas hy drophili a
. T h e stu d yhad
ver ys m all nu m b ers of non- exp o sed i ndivid u als, m a king the attain m e nt of statis tical signif i cance dif f i cult.

Mar i ñ o FJ, Moiñ ig o MA, Martin ez- Man z an ar es E, Bo rr ego JJ. 199 5b

. A p p licatio n of t

h e r e cr eatio n a l water qu ality stan d ard gu id eli n es. Wa ter S c ien ce
a n d Techno logy 31 (5– 6 ) : 27–3 1. Exa m ines applicab ility of WHO/ U N E P and EC bathing water dir ective using data fr o m their epidem iological study

. Concludes the best indicators are f aecal colif or m s , E. co l i and coliphages (at low pollution level) an d f aecal streptococci and coliphages ( a t highpollution level)

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J20McBride GB. 1990. B a ckgr o und N o tes for t h e Developme nt of Gui d elines f o r Microbiologi cal Receiving Wat e r St andards f o r New Zeal and. Water Qu ality Cen t re Pub licatio n No. 1 8

. DSIR, Ham i lto n

. Repo rt av ailab l e fro m th e lib rarian , NI WA , Ham i lton

. Docu m e nts histor ical develop m en t of m i cr obiological standar d s for

New Z e aland, and issues to be addr essed in the fort hco m ing Resour ce M a nagem e nt Act’ s i m p l em entation.
McBride GB. 1993. Disc u ssi on of ‘Health e ffects
o f

sw imm e r s an d non po in t sou r ces of contam inated water’, by Calderon et al. In tern a tiona l Jo u r na l o f

En vi ro nmen ta l Health Researc h 3: 11 5– 1 6

. Disagr ees with the claim b yC a lder on et al ( 1991) that ther e was “no associatio n” between sw i m m e rs ’ h ealth risk a n dth e concentration of an i m al f aecal m a t e r i al. Notes that rep o rted rates appear to be i n f act rather high.

M c B r i d e GB , B a ndaranay a k e DR , Sal m ond C E , Tu rn er SJ, Lewis GD, Till D, Hatton C , Cooper AB

. 1993. Faecal i n dicator de nsity and illn ess risk to swimmers in coastal waters: a prel i m i n ary st udy f o r

Ne w Ze al and. Pr ocee dings of t h e An n ual C

onf ere n ce of t

h e N e w Ze ala n d Water and Wastes Association, Ha vel o c k N o rt h, 1– 3 Sept em ber 1 9 9 3

. Reports r e sults of pr elim inarytr ials (1992/ 93) car r i ed o u t at Auckland beaches only. Ente roco cci e m erged as a statis tically significant indicat or for HCGI ( h i ghly c r edible gastrointestinal illness). Sa m p le si ze was too s m all to reach f i r m conclu sions about how this m i ght have r e la ted to pollutio n levels. M i nor cor

r ections ( h and-annotated on the o r iginal) have been m a de in the ver s ion of this paper app ear ing in Bandar a nay a ke et al 1993. McBride GB, Loftis JC , Adkins NC

. 1993. What d o sign ificance tests really tell u s abou t th e envi ro nm ent ? Environment a l Manage me nt 17 ( 4 ): 4 23– 32 . Err a t ain 1 8 : 31 7. Notes that an individual p - v alue m a y not be instr u ctive about patterns and associations in th e envir o n m ent, particular ly because one seldom has conf iden ce that a null hypothesis could in f act b e tru e

. M c B r i d e GB , Salm ond C E , B a ndaranay a k e DR , Tu rn er SJ, Lewis GD, Till DG. 199 8. Heal th effect s of m a rine bat h i n g i n New Zeal an d. In tern a tiona l Jo u r na l o f

En vi ro nmen ta l Health Researc h 8: 17 3– 8 9

. Reports New Z ealand national pr osp ective studyper f orm e d at seven beaches in the 1995 sum m e r u s ing 157 7 beach-users who entered the wat e r, and 2307 who did not. On each of the 107 interview day s m u ltiple sa m p les of the beach water were exa m ined f o r three f aecal indicators ( f aecal colif or m s , E. c o l i , enterococci). Log- linear m ode lling s howed that enterococci
was m o st st rongly and consistentlyassociated with illne ss risk for the exposed gr oups, particularlyf o r respiratoryillne ss am ong paddler s and long- dur ati on sw im m e r s . Cr ude risk differ e nces for the s e two gr oups were 7 and 33 per 1000 individ u als, r i sing to 62 and 87 per 1 000 indi viduals f o r

the highest enterococci quartile. No substantial differences in illness risks were found between the hu m a n and ani m al waste i m

p acted beaches, thoug h both were m a rkedly different fro m the control beaches.

M c B r i d e GB , Th or n C , Sal m on d C

. 1 9 9 6

. Fea s ib ility o f Ba th i n g-h e a lth Effects St ud y f o r New Zea land Freshwa t ers. Min i stry fo r th e En vi ro nm ent R e po rt No . 20 2. Exa m ines patte rns of f

r eshwater recr e a tion at lower Nort h I s land sites. Concluded that an epidem iological studywas feasible onlyif of t h e contr o lled type.
McBrid e GB, Till DG, Salmo n dCE. 19 98

. Nat i onal st u d y of heal th ef fect s o f m a ri ne bat h i n g and i m pl i cati ons fo r new gui del i n es. Pr oce e di n g s of

t

h e 4 0 t h An n ual C

o nf erence a n d Ex po of t

h e New Zealand Water & Wastes Ass o ciation , M u seum of Ne w Zeal an d , We l l i ngt on , 23

– 2 5 Sept em ber, 25 1– 5

. Im

plications of the national study( M cBr i de, Sal m ond et al 1998) for the revie w of m i crobiological wate r quality guidelines ar e discussed, particular ly in term s of the ‘ s inglesam p le m a xim a ’ and sam p ling depth.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J21M c Bride G, Ti ll D, Ry anT, Ball A, Le wis G, Palm er S, Wei n stein P. 2002. Fre s hw at er Mi crobi ol o g i c al Rese arc h Pr ogra mme : Pat h o g e n Occurrence and Human He al th Risk As sess ment Analysis . M i ni st ry f o r t h e E n vi r onm ent

. A study of New Ze aland f r eshwater r e creational sites. T h e
m a in outco m e s we re that: (i) Campylobacter and hum an adenovir u ses ar e the pathogens m o st likelyto cause hum an waterborne illness; (ii) an esti m a ted 4 % of notifie d
ca m p ylobacte r iosis in New Zeala nd could be attr ibutable to water contact rec r e a tion; (iii) E. co li a s an indicator of increased Campylobacter in f ection is in the r a n g e of 200 –50 0 E. c o li per 100 m L ; ( i v) other pathogens exam ined could not be r e lated to E. co li concentr ations in fr esh water s ; ( v ) pathogens ar e m o r e likely to be present and in great er num b e rs in turbid wa ters. T h e r e port can be downloaded fr o m www. m f e

. govt.nz

. M e dem a GJ, A s pere n I A van , Havel a ar AH

. 19 9 7

. A ssessm en t of th e expo su r e of sw immer s to
m i crobi ol ogi ca l cont am i n ant s i n f r es h wat e rs. Wat e r Sci e nce an d Tech n o l o g y 35 (11 –12 ) : 1 57– 63

. Reports on a follo w- up studyusing 1, 313 participants in seven tr iathlons in 1993/ 94. All sites wer e influenced bysewage effluent s and m o st byagr i cultur a l r un- off. T h e r i sk of gastrointestinal infection correla ted w e ll with concentrat ion of therm o tolerant coli form s and E. co li , but not with other variables (f aecal e n terococci, Staphylococcus aureus , F-specif i c RNA phages, enteroviruses , therm o p h ilic Campylobact e r , Salmonella , A e romonas , Pleisiomonas shigelloides , P

s eudomonas aer u ginosa ). Note that the abstract s a ys m o re than the paper on epide m iological par t s, but an acco m p a n ying poster paper report e d illness results fro m 827 of the triathletes, with 773 non- swi m m i ng contr o ls ( i n a r un- bike- r un event)

. T h r e sholds of 22 0 cfp per 100 m L ( t h e rm otoler ant coliform s ) and 355 cf p per 100 m L ( E. c o l i ) were r e ported.

M e dem a GJ, A s pere n I A van , Kl o k m a nHouwelin g JM , Noo itg ed ag t A, d e Laar MJW v a n, Havel a ar AH

. 19 9 5

. T h e rel a t i ons hi p bet w e e n h ealth effects i n triath letes andm i cro b i o l o g i cal q u a lity of freshwater. Wa ter S c ien ce an d Tech nology 31( 5–6 ) : 1 9–2 6. Reports on a follo w- up pilot studyof 314 tr iathletes and 81 runbike-run controls. The triathlete s showed elevated illnes s rates, indicating that a full study is feasible. Geo m e t ric m e an E. co li and enter o cocci wer e 170 and 13 per 100 m L , r e spectiv ely

. M e dem aGJ, T e uni s PFM , Ha vel aar A H , Ha as C N

. 19 9 6

. As sess m e nt of d o se -r esp onse rel a t i o nshi p of Campylobacter jejuni

. In terna tio na l Jo urnal o f Fo od Mi cro b i o l ogy 30 : 101 –11

. Reports the best- f it beta- P oisson dose r e sponse m odel for a co m m on str a in of Campylobacter jejuni ( P enner ser o type 27)

. Melnick JL

. 1990. E n terovi ruses: polioviruses,
cox s acki e vi ru s e s, ec ho vi r u ses , an d ne wer enteroviruses

. In: B N Fields e t al (eds ) Vi r o logy , 2 n ded . Rav e n Pr ess, N e w Yo rk , 549 –60 6. Good r e view of vir o logy

. Miles MA. 197 3. An inv e sti g atio n in to th e pos si bl e rel a t i onshi p betw ee n bath i n g an d ear co m p lain ts in Taup o. New Zea lan d San ita ria n 28 ( 2 ): 75

. Pr opose that furt her exam ination be m a de into ear co m p laints
am ong swim m e r s at T a upo.
M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent

. 19 9 2

. M E 9 1

. Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es N o . 1

. M i nistry fo r the En vi ro nm ent , Wel l i ngt on

. Guidelines for the contr o l of un desir able biological gr o w ths in water.

M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent

. 19 9 4

. M E 1 4 2

. Wa ter Qua lity Gu i d elin es N o . 2

. M i nistry fo r the En vi ro nm ent , Wel l i ngt on

. Guidelines for m a nagem e nt of water colour and clarit y.
M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent

. 19 9 6

. Fea s ib ility of

B a t h i n g- he a l t h Ef f

ect s St u d y f o r N e w Zeal an d Freshw at ers . Pre p are dby G B M c B r i d e, C Th or n and C Sal m on d. M i ni stry f o r

th e E n vi ro nm ent , Wel l i ngt on

. Considers possi bilities for freshwat er epide m iological st udy of swi m m e rs’ h ealth risk , an dc oncludes that onlya contr o lledcohort design is lik elyto be fr uitful. Includes a sur v eyo f the degree of recrea tional use of f

r eshwaters at sites in Ha w k e’s Bay , W a ir arapa an d M a nawatu. I m plies that hundr eds o f thousan ds of New Z ealander s swi m at fr eshwater sites annually , but in a ver ydisper sed m a nner ( t her e ar e seldo m m o r e than 100 peo p le at a ‘ s ite’ )

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J22M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent

. 19 9 9

. Envi ro n m ent a l

Ed uc at i o n : A gui de f o r pro g r am me providers – how to d evelop, i m ple m ent and eval u at e st rat e gi es an d pr og ra m m es. Min i stry fo r th e E nvi r o nm ent , Wel l i ngt on

. A guide to assist with pr epar ing and im plem enting effective envir o n m ental education pr ogr am m e s, tailor e d to m eet the needs of indi vidual or ganisations.

M i nistry of A g riculture an d F o rest ry

. 1 9 9 5

. S

h e llfish Qu a l i t y Assu ran ce C i rcu la r . Min i stry of Agricu lture, Wellin g t o n

.
Moore B. 1975. T h e case a g ainst m i crobial st andard s f o r b a t h i n g bea c hes

. In: AL H Ga m e son (ed ) Di sch a r g e of Sew age f r o m Sea O u t f

a l l s
. Perg am o n Pr ess, Oxf o r d an d N e w Yo rk , 103 –9

. Ar gues against standar d s, noting that a health- e ffects ver s us indicator r e lationship had not y e t been developed, and t h at total or f aecal colif or m s are not appropriat e

. Mo ore B. 1 977

. Th e EEC b a th in g water d i rectiv e. Ma rin e Po llu tio n Bu lletin 8 : 2 69– 72

. E xpr esses dissatisfaction with the 1976 E E C Dir ective ( E U 1976), with concern about co m p etitio n for public funds. Notes the ef f ect of the Directive is to give high pr ior ityto

“ e pide m i ological studies that will pro v ide a quantitative di m e nsion to the postulated health r i sks of bathin g in sewage conta m inat ed seaw ater”.

M o riñ g o M A , Wheele r D, Be rry C, Jo nes C, Mu ño z M A , C o rn ax R, B o rr eg o JJ. 1 992

. Eval uat i o n o f di ffe re nt bact e r i o p h age g r ou ps as faecal indicators in contam inated nat u ral wa ters in sout her n En gl an d

. Water Res e arc h 2 6 ( 3 ) : 26 7–7 1. River and seawate r af

f ected by f aecal discharges were analysed to evaluate the reli ability of coliphages and F-specific RNA bacter iophages as indicator s of the m i cr obiological quali tyof water s . FRNA phages showed no di r ect r e lationship with levels of f

aecal pollution and were ne ver detected in sa m p l e s with f e w enteroviru ses, whereas coliphages were detect ed. Coliphages coul d be consider ed an opti m al indicator. Mo rr i s R. 1991

. Th e EC b a t h ing w a ter v i rolo g i cal stan d ard : is it realistic? W a t e r Sci e nce an d Tech nology 24( 2) : 49– 52

. Notes that only cul turable ente r ovir u ses and r o tavir u ses have available enu m er ation m e thods, a nd that sam p ling fr equencyis gener a llynot suffi cient to give effect to the r e quir e m e nt that 95% of sam p les be fr ee of en ter ovir u ses. Nevert heless concludes that the pr esent im pe rative standar dshould r e m a in.
MRC. 195 9. Sew age C ont a m i n at i o n of Ba t h i n g Bea c h e s in Eng lan d and Wa l e s . Me dical Research Co un cil Mem o r a ndu m ( U K) N o

. 3 7

. I n ter p r e ted the PHL S ( 1959) studyresults as: “W ith the exception of a few aesthetica lly revolt i ng beaches around the coast of E ngland and W a les, the r i sk to health of bathin g in
s e w a ge - c ont am i n at e ds e a - w a te r ca n, for all pr actical pur poses, be ignor ed. ”

Mu j e r i ego R, Br avo JM, F e liu MT. 1 982

. Recreatio n in co astal waters: p u b lic h ealt h i m p licatio n s

. Vi er Jo ur née É t udes Pol l u t i on s
. C a nnes , C e nt re I n t e rnat i o nal e d’E x pl o r at i o n Scien tifiqu e d e la Mer (CIESM): 58 5–9 4. Reports on a f o llow-up epide m iol ogical study of 24 beaches at M á laga and Tar r agona, using 20, 2 19 r e sponses. Ailm en ts found were skin infections (2%) , ear and eye inf ections (1.5%) and intestinal infec tion ( < 1%)

. Acco r d ing to Shuval ( 1986) the studydoes supply“som e suggestive evidence as to the value of enter o cocci as an indicator of m a r i ne pollutio n”, but suf f e r s fro m a lack of controls and appropriate wate r quality data.

New Jersey De part m e nt of He al th

. 19 8 9

. Ocean Heal t h Study : A st u d y of t

h e r e la t i ons hi p bet w een illn ess an d o c ea n b e a c h w a ter qu a lity in New Jersey. A 1988 pr ospectiv e studyusing 16, 0 89 ( 10% under age 10) at nine coastal and two lake beaches i m p acted by chlori nated effluent s. Swi m m e r s consis tentlyreported higher sym p to m
r a tes than non- swim m e r s ( e xcess of 12. 2 cases per 1000)

. W a te r quality was verygood and atte m p ts to rela te the e x cess illness rates with p o llution levels fail ed.
NTAC

. 1 9 6 8

. Wa ter Qu a lity Criteria . Re port of th e Nation a l Tech n i cal Adv i so ry C o mmittee to th e Fed e ral W a ter Po llu tion C o n t ro l Ad m i n i strat i o n

. The first federal co m p il ation of qualit y ‘crite ria’, so m e ti m e s called the “Gr een Book”. I t was com p iled byfive sep a r a te
co mm itt ees, which each re co mm e nded dif f e rent def i niti ons of how one would ju dge co m p liance.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J23Nuzzi R , Burhans R. 1 997 . Th e u s e of enterococc us an d colif orm in characte r ising bath i n g - beac h wat e rs. En viron m en ta l Hea lth ( J u l y/Au gu st) : 1 6–2 1. Reports water quality studies at New York beaches f o r total and f aecal colif or m s (s till used in New Y o rk f o r bathing waters) and enter o cocci. Found that enter o coccus cor r e lated well with both sets of colif or m s , b u t would result in m o re beach closures.
Ph ilip R. 1 991. Risk A s sessmen t an d Microbi ologic al Hazards Ass o ciated with Recreatio n a l Water Spo r ts. Reviews in Me dical Mi crobi ol o g y 2 : 208 –14

. PHLS

. 1 9 5 9

. Sewa ge c ont a m i n at i on o f c o ast a l b a th ing waters in En g l an d and W a les: a bacteriol ogical and e p idem iological st udy. Jou r n a l of Hy g i ene ( C

am bri d ge) 5 7 : 4 35– 72. Reports on a r e tr os pective studyof enter i c fever and polio m y elitis (both notifiable). Concludes “ t hat bathi ng in sewage polluted sea wate r ca rries only a negligible risk to health, even on beaches that are aest h etically ve ry unsatisfactory ...”

. This is so m e ti m e s quoted as Moore (1959); Dr

Brendan M oor e was the m a in auth or

. Pik e EB. 1 993. Recr eati o n a l u s e o f co astal waters: devel o pm ent of health-related stan dards

. Jo urna l o f th e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter a n d Environment a l Manage me nt : 1 63– 69

. Co m p ar es USA/UK/E U appr oaches to setting standar d s , noting that all ar e pri m ari l y direc t ed at bathi ng. Statistical issues in def i ning central an d extre m e values of indicator variables are discussed, in particular the use of single sam p le m a xi m a is proble m a tical. No tes that only the U S EPA crite ria had been developed fr om ep idem iol ogical studies ( up to 1993)

. Pik e EB. 1 994. Hea lth effects o f

sea ba th ing ( WMI 9 0 21) – Ph ase II I

. Final Rep o rt to the Depart m e nt of th e E nvi r o nm ent

. R e p o rt No

. D o E 34 1 2 / 2 , W a t e r R e search C e ntr e , M e dm enha m , En gl an d. A v ai l abl e fr om W a t e r R e searc h C e ntre. Su mm a r ises results fro m the two sets of UK studies in the earl y 1990s. These were on 16,569 h o liday m a ke rs at 10 beaches using an unco n tr ol led pr ospec tive cohort design, and on1112 healthyadult volunteer s at four beaches, using a contr o lled cohort design. Holidaym a ker s enter i n g the sea per ceived all sym p to m s m o re frequentlythan those who did not, the r e lative incr eases being r e lated to degr ee of w a ter contact and age, being gr eatest in sur f er s and in 15–2 4- y ear- o lds. Relative increases in f r equencies of eye, ear n o se and throat, res p iratory and skin sym p to m s wer e not st r onglyr e lated to m i cr obiological water qualit y. Rel a tive increases in d i ar r hoea in those enter i ng the water were related to total colifor m counts and enter ovir u ses. I n the volunteer study , the incidence in bather s of sym p to m s suggesting gastroenteritis was related to co unts of f aecal streptococci at chest depth. N o relationship was evident between self-recording of sym p to m s and results of clinical
exam inations. Ov er all conclusions fr o m both types of studyar e in agree m ent with the re sults of earlie r studies.

Prü ss A. 1 9 9 8

. R e vi e w of e p i d em i o l ogi cal st udi es o nh ealth effects fro m ex po sure to recreatio nal water. I n t e r n a t i onal J

o ur nal of E

p i d e m i o l o g y 27 : 1– 9. Reviews 22 epidem iological studi es conducted f o r

fr eshwater and coastal water. Most reported a d o se-related increas e of health risk in swi m m e rs with an incr e a se in indicator ba cteria count in r ecr eation a l water s

. Relative r i sks for swim m e r s ver s us non- swim m e r s are typically in the r a nge 1. 0 to 3.0. Enterococci and f aecal streptococci w e re opined to be the best indicators f o r seawater and E. c o l i for fr e s hw a t e r . Re view s Bradford Hill’s nine crite ria for causa tion in environ m en tal studies, as applied to gastrointestinal sym p to m s . P a sses seven of them : str e ngth of associati on ( y es) , consistency(y es), specificity of association (no) , te m porality (yes), biological gradient (yes ), pla u sibility (yes ), coherence (yes ), experi m e nt ( no) , analogy ( y es ).
Robe rtso n WJ. 1 9 9 3

. G u idel ines f o r the pr ot ect i o n o f h u m a n heal t h o n bath i n g beac hes. Jo urna l o f

th e Ca nad ian In sti t u t e o f

Pub lic Hea lth Ins p ectors ( S p r in g) : 14– 17

. Reviews national recr eational wa ter d a ta and pr oposes that E. co li and the enter o coccus gr oup ar e cur r e ntlythe best available indicators f o r f r esh and m a r i ne waters respecti v ely. Pr oposed lim its sim i lar to those of USE P A 1986a.

Ro b s on W L M, Leung A K C

. 1 990

. Sw immi n g and ear infe ction. J o ur nal of the R o yal Society of Hea lth 199 –200

. Reviews the associ ation of ear inf ection with swi m m i ng

. Chlorinated water or stagnant ponds m a y pose a risk for otitis
m e dia or otitis externa.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J24Rosenbe r g ML , Hazlet KK, Schaefe r J , Wells JG, Pr

un ed a RC. 19 76 . Sh ig ellosis f r o m sw i mmin g

. Journal of the American Medical Ass o ciation 2 36( 16 ) : 18 49– 52

. I n August 1974, 3 1 of 45 cases of S h i

gella sonnei infect ion in Dubuque (Iowa) w e re t r aced to swi m m i ng in the Missis s ippi River ( i n an eight-m ile str e tch)

. Sign if icant associations between illness and swi m m i ng were also reported by a
r e tr ospective sur v eyof 60 fam ili es w ho had ca m p ed at a park beside the river. T h e attack rat e f o r s w i m m e rs was 18%

. Mean faecal coliform co ntent was 17,500 p e r 100 m L

. Salas H J

. 19 86

. H i st o ry an d app licatio n o f micro b i o l o g i cal water qu ality stan d ards in the
m a ri ne en vi r o n m ent

. W a t e r S c i e nce & Tech nology 1 8 : 47 –57

. Reviews m a n ycou n tr ies standar d s up to the m i d- 1980s. Pr oposes that standar d s ar e best expressed as an aver ag e concentr ation, and a ‘ m axim u m value’ that is not to be exceeded f o r m o re than a high pe rcentage of the ti m e (e. g

. 90%)

. Sey fri ed PL , T obi n R S , B r o w n NE, Ness PF

. 19 8 5 a. A p r os pect i v e st udy o f s w i m m i ng-re l a t e d illn ess. I. Swi mmin g - asso ciatedh ealt h risk

. Ameri c a n J o ur nal of P u bl i c Hea lth 75 ( 9 ): 1 068 –70

. Reports on a 1980 pr ospective studyon 10 Ontar i o r i ver and lake beaches (see EHD 1980), using 4537 interviews. Crude
m o r b idity r a tes wer e 69. 6 per 1000 swim m e r s and 29. 5 per 1000 n on- swim m e r s

. Swim m e rs exper i enced r e spiratory ail m ents m o st frequently, followe d by gastrointestinal, eye, ear , skin and allergenic sy m p to m s

. Sey fri ed PL , T obi n R S , B r o w n NE, Ness PF

. 19 8 5 b

. A p r os pect i v e st udy o f s w i m m i ng-re l a t e d illn ess. II. Morb i d ity an d th e micro b i o l o g i cal q u a lity of water. Ame r i c a n J our n a l of Pu bl i c H ealth 7 5 (9 ) : 10 71– 6. Reports results f o r f aecal colif or m s , f aecal str e ptococci, heter o tr ophic bacter ia, P s eudomonas aeruginos a , and total staphy lococci. L o gistic m odelling showed m o r b idity am ong swi m m e rs to be rel a ted to staphy lococcal counts, faecal coliform s and, less strongly , to faecal streptococci. Shuval HI. 1986. Thalass ogenic disease s

. UNEP Regi o n a l Se as Rep o rt s an d Studi es No . 79 , UN E P

. ( G r eek: thalass = s ea, genesis = sour ce. ) Co m p r e hensive
r e view of m a n ystudies. Concl udes that after year s of debate there is now f i r m e v idence that bathing in sewage-polluted waters c a uses an e x cess of gastrointe stinal disease, the r a tes of which correlate ge nerally with entero cocci or E. c o l i concentrations.
Sim m onds RS , Loutit M W , Austin FJ. 1983. Enteric viruses in New Zealand wastewaters. New Zea land Jo urna l o f S c ience 26 : 437 –41

. Forty-seven sa m p l e s fro m three trea t m e n t plants we re t e sted for hu m a n enter ovir u ses. Nine diffe ren t v i ru ses were d e te ct edin 36 sam p les r a nging up to 400 0 pf u/L

. Chlor i ne r e duced
nu m b ers, but they were still detectabl e in 11 of 16 chlori nated
sa m p l e s.
Sin t on LW , D a v i es- C o lley RJ, Bell RG

. 1994

. Inactivation of enteroco cci an d fecal coliform s fr om sewage an d m eatworks effl ue nt s i n seaw at er cham bers. Ap pl i e d an d Envi ron m e n ta l Mi crobi ol o g y 6 0 : 20 40– 8. Inactivation of f

a e cal colif or m s ( F C) and enterococci (E nt) fr o m sewage and m e atwor k s effluen t s was m easur ed in experi m e nts ( m eat works FC > se wage FC > m e atworks Ent > sewag e En t)

. Dec a y co ef f i cien t (1 st- o rd er) f o r FC was t w o to f our ti m e s that f o r Ent, and was slow er at lower t e m p e r atures. Factor s other than insolation were i m plicated (by bet w e e nexper i m e nt var i ations)

. M o st inactiv ation appear ed to be in the 318– 340 nm and > 400 n m r a nges.
Sin t on LW , Don n i son A M , Hastie CM. 1993 a. Faecal strept oc occi as faecal pollution indicators: a revi e w
. Part I: Tax o nom y and e num erat i on. New Zea land Jo urna l o f Ma ri n e an d Fresh w a t er Researc h 27 : 10 1–1 5. Notes that ther e is no univer s allyaccepted m e thod for isolating f aecal streptococci

.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J25Sin t on LW , Don n i son A M , Hastie CM. 1993 b. Faecal strept oc occi as faecal pollution indicators: a revie w
. Part II : Sanitary sig n i f icance, su r v iv al,
an d use. New Zea land Jo urna l o f

Ma ri n e an d Freshw at er Re searc h 2 7 : 11 7– 37

. Faecal st reptococci (or the s ubset ent e rococci) a r e m o re resistant to sunlight -induced inactivation than f aecal colif or m s

. Notes adoption o f USE P A cr iter i a, using enter o cocci for m a r i ne and fr eshwater s ( a nd E. coli for fr eshwater s) should be adopted with caution in Ne w Zeal and. Al so n o tes the gener a l failur e of the f aecal streptoc occi:f aecal colif orm r a tio as a m e asure of hu m a n:ani m al con t ributions to a f aecal load.
Sin t on LW , Fi n l ay RK , H annah D J

. 1998

. Distinguishi ng hum an from anim al faecal cont am i n at i on: a re vi ew

. N e w Zeal an d J o u r nal of Mari ne a n d Fr eshw at er Rese arc h 3 2 : 32 3–48

. Notes that reliable evidence is lacking on the relative hea lth
r i sks posed byexposur e to either hum an or ani m al faeces. Notes that New Z e aland’ s high gr azing anim al:hu m an ratio
m a kes “ it see m p rudent to assu m e th at hu m a n and ani m al f aecal pollution both constitute a risk to hum a n health”. Revi ews m e thods for distin guishin g ani m al an d hu m a n faecal res i dues, noting that DNA-based techniques (e. g . PCR) m a y assist

. Si nt o n L W , Fi nl ay R K , Ly nc h P A

. 19 9 9

. Sunlight i n activation of fecal bacteriophage s and bacteria in se wage-polluted se awater. A ppl i e d an d Environment a l Microbiology

. Sunlight inactivati on in seawater wat e r of f

aecal indicat ors fr o m sewage was m e asur ed in outdoor exper i m e nts overa twoyear period. The ra nking (f ro m the gr eatest to least inact ivation) was f aecal colif or m s > F-RNA phages > so m a ti c colip hages. T h ese r e sults suggest that, in seawater , so m a tic coliphages ar e likely to be the bes t enteric vi rus indi cators. This inact ivation
r a nking was also evident in a two- dayexper i m e nt, which included enterococci. Although ente rococci were initiall y m o re sunlight resistant than f aecal colif orm s , the two indicat ors f e ll to counts of < 1/1 0 0 m L at ar ound the sam e tim e on day two. Si nt o n L W , Ha l l C H , Ly nc h P A , Dav i es-Co lley RJ. 2 002

. Su nlig h t in activ ati o n of fecal indicator bacteria an d ba cteriopha g es from wast e st abi l i zat i on p o n de ffl ue nt i n fre sh an d salin e water. Ap pl i e d an d E n vi ro n m ent a l Mi crobi ol o g y 68: 3. An im portant paper on the topic of re ceiving waters af f ected by pond disc har g es. E xper i m e nts de m o nstr ate that enter o cocci survive longer than f aecal coliform s in freshwater / raw sewage
m i xtu r es, but the o pposite patter n was obser ved for pon d effluent s. E n ter o cocci appear to suff er

photo- oxidative dam a ge in ponds, r e nder i n g them susceptible to furt her such dam a ge after dischar g e, su ggesting that theyar e unsuitable as indicator s of po nd ef fluents t o natur a l water s

. So rv illo FJ, Fuj i ok a F, Nah l en B, Torm ey P, Kebe b j i a n R S , M a scol a L. 19 92

. Swi m m i ng associated C ryptos p oridi o sis. Ameri c an Jo u r nal of Pub lic Hea lth 8 2 (5 ) : 7 42– 44

. An exam ple of a s w im m i ng - pool out br eak of this disease.
Stehr-Gree n J K , Nicholls C, McEwan S, Payne A, Mitch e ll P. 1 9 9 1

. Waterbo r ne ou tbreak of Campylobacter jejuni i n Chri stchurch: t h e im portance of a com b ined epi d em iologic and
m i crobi ol ogi c i nve st i g at i o n

. New Zea land Medi c al J

o urn a l 104 : 356 –8

. T w o cases at a cam p and conventioncentr e near Chr i stchur ch had water supplys t r onglysuggested as the sour ce of inf ection.
Stev enson AH . 195 3. Stud ies of b a th ing w a ter q u a lity and h e alth

. Am erican Jo urna l o f Public Hea lth 43 : 5 29– 38

. Reports findin g s fr o m US Public Health Ser v ice studies in 1948 –50 at fr eshw ater sites on lake M i chigan at Chicago, the Ohio River at Day t on Ohio ( a nd T acom a Par k pool at Day t on) , an dNew Yo rk tid a l waters (N ew Ro c h elle an dMa m a ro n eck ). Used pr ospective studywith 22, 164 p e r s ons. ‘ S wim m in g’ didn’t require head i m m e rsion. Found illness in swi m mers was appr eciablyhigher than in non- swim m e r s

. Also found two statistically signifi cant results for illness related to degree of pollution (assessed using total colifor m s ), between low and high conta m ination days at one of the Chicago beaches and between the Ohio swi m m e rs.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J26Streeter HW. 1951. Ba cteria l Qua lity Ob j ectives fo r th e Oh io River: A gu id e for th e eva l ua tion o f sani t a ry c o n d i t i ons of w a t e rs use d f

o r

p o ta bl e sup p l i e s an d re creat i o nal uses
. Ohi o Rive r Valley Water San itatio n Co mm issio n , Ci n c inn a ti, OH. Pr esents calculatio ns on the r i sk of co ntr acting typhoid f e ver for
so m e one who bathes ever y day fo r 90 day s in water containing 1000 total colif or

m s per 100 m L . This gave a r i sk of 1:950, or 1:50 for “ d iarrhea-enteritis”. Th is result was used in early standar d s ( W ater s Pollution Regulati ons 196 3)

. Telf or d SR. 19 96

. A nno tatio n : m a r i n e w a ter s an d
n on-en teric illness: m a tch i n g th e d e gree o f
an alytical r i g o u r to t h e b i o l ogy o f th e i n f ecti o n pr ocess

. A m er i c an J o ur nal of Pu bl i c He al t h 8 6 (9 ) : 1 203 –04

. A co m m ent on the article b yFleisher and other s appear ing in the sa m e issue. N o tes that their pape r repr esents a “ v ast
m e thodological im pr ovem e nt over previous studies”, particular ly that of Stevenson ( 1953)

. Notes that causation studies ar e now desir able.
Teunis PFM , Havelaar AH

. 2000. T h e beta Po isso n do se-respo n s e m o d e l is no t a si n g l e-h it
m odel

. Ri sk A nal ysi s 20 (4 ) : 5 13– 20

. Cogent account o f the validityof a standar ddose r e spons e
m odel at low dose s , and m e thods for accounting for uncertainty in that m odel (via Bayesi an posterior intervals).

Teu n is PFM , Nagel k er ke NJ D, Haas C N 1 9 9 9

. Dose res p o n se m odels fo r in fe ctious g a stro en teritis. Risk A n alysis 1 9 (6 ) : 1 251 –60

. Identifies so m e difficulties in m odelli ng the probability of illness given infect ion for a range of doses – m u ch less str a ightfor w ar d than m ode lling infection given do se.
Teu n i s PFM , v a n der Hei j de n OG , van de r Gi esse n J W B , Ha vel aar AH. 19 9 6

. The Dose -res p onse Rela t i o n i n H u ma n Volunt eer s f

o r Gast r o -i nt est i n al P a t h oge ns. RIVM Rep o rt No . 28 4 5 5 0 0 0 2

. Ant oni e van Leeuwenhoekl aan 9, PO Box 1, NL -3720 B A B i l t hove n, The Neth e r l a n d s. In-depth review of the availabl e data on clinical trials for a
r a nge of gastr o - i ntestinal pathogens. I d entifies the m o st satisfactor y m odels ( e xponential or beta- P oisson) for each case. Tu rn er SJ, Lew i s GD

. 1 995 . Co m p ar ison of F-s p ecific bacteriopha ge, ente roc o cci, an d fa ecal
co liform d e n s ities th ro ugh a wastewater treat men t pl ant em pl oy i n g oxi dat i o np o nds

. Water Sci e nce
a n d Techno logy 31 (5– 6 ) : 85–9

. A 12-m onth study suggests that enter o cocci m a ybe the best indicator for oxida tion pon d sy stem s. Did not include E. c o l i

. Tur n e r SJ , Le wis G D , Bellam y AR. 1997. Det ect i on o f se wage - d eri v e d Escheric hia c o li in a rural stream u s in g m u ltip lex PCR andau tomated DN A detection

. W a t e r Sci e nc e a n d Tec h n o logy 3 5 (1 1–1 2) : 85– 9. A DNA m a rker shows pro m ise in ide n tifying E. coli isolates of hu m a n or igin. Field tr ials ups tr ea m and downstr eam of sewage ponds ap pear to confirm this. Tyler K L , Fiel d s B N

. 199 0. Path og en esis of v i r a l infections. In: BN Fields et al (e ds) Vi rology , 2nd ed

. Rav e n Pr ess, N e w Yo rk , 1 91– 240

. I n cludes discussio n of inhalation o f a e r o sols as a m eans of acquir i ng infectiou s vir a l disease. Tyrrell SA, Ri p p e y SR, Watkin s WD. 19 95

. In activ ation of b acterial andviral in d i cators i n seco ndary se w a ge e ffl ue nt s, u s i n g chl o ri ne an d
ozo n e. Wa ter S c ien ce an d Tech no log y 29 (11 ) : 2 483 –90

. Chlorine reduced f aecal colif or m s and enterococci > 10 0-f o ld, but for bacter iopha ges < 10- fold. I n contr a st, ozonation gave > 100- fold r e ducti on of the pha ges, but not so m u ch for vegetative bacteria . Concludes f aecal colif or m s are inadequate for

pr edicting vir a l r e sponse to chlor i ne or ozone.
U S EPA

. 1 985. Test Metho ds fo r E s che r ichi a coli

an d E n te ro co cc i in Wa ter by th e Memb ran e Filtra tio n Pro c ed ure. Repo r t EPA 60 0 / 4

- 85 -0 76

. United States Environm ental Protection Agency, C i nci nnat i , O H

. Details the test m e thods to be us ed at that tim e when ap ply i ng the EPA guideline s to recreational w a ters.
U S EPA

. 1 986a. Amb i en t Water Qu a lity fo r Bacteria 1986 . Repo r t EPA 44 0 / 5

- 84 -0 02

. USEP A O ffice o f Water Re gu lations an d Stan d ard s, W a sh ing t on , D C 20 460

. Gives explanator y m a ter i al about the der i vation of the cr iter i a, using the results of Cabe lli (1983a) a nd Dufo ur (1984).

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J27U S EPA

. 1 986b

. Qua lity Crit eria fo r Wa ter 1 986 : Bacteria . Repo r t EPA 440 /5-8 6-0 0 1

. USEPA Of fice o f Wate r Reg u latio ns an d Stan dards , W a sh ing t on , DC 20 460

. Pro m u l g a tes “ c rite ria” (i.e. reco m m e nded state standar d s) based on the work of Cabelli ( 1983a) and Dufour (198 4).
USEP A. Sta n dar d Met h o d s f

o r t h e Ex ami n at i o n of W a ter and Waste W a ter . 20t h e d , Am eri can Pub lic Health Asso ciatio n

.
Von Sch i rnd i ng YER, Kfi r R, Cab e lli VJ, Fran k lin L, Joub ert G. 1 992 . Mo rb id ity am o n g b a th ers ex po sedto po llu tedseawater. So ut h Af

ri can Medi c al Jo ur n a l 81 (6 ) : 54 3–6

. Reports on the fir s t phase of a 1990/9 1 pr ospective follo w- up studyat two beach es in Cape Town, using 73 3 people. Found an excess of gastrointestinal, respirato r y and skin sym p tom s am ong swim m e r s , r e lative to non- swim m e r s . Results wer e suggestive o f a rel a tionship between swi m m e rs’ illness and water qualit y.
Vo n Schi rn di n g YER , St ra uss N, R o bert s o n P, Kfir R, Fattal B, Math ee A, Fran ck M, Cabelli VJ. 1 993

. Bath er m o rb id ity fro m recreati o n a l expos u re to se a water. Wa ter S c ien c e and Tech nology 27( 3–4 ) : 1 83– 6. Reports on the f u ll study car ried out a t two Cape Town b eaches in the ear ly1990s, using 55 51 peo p le. Sy m p to m r a tes for gastrointestinal, re spiratory and skin effects were substantially higher at the polluted beach, althoughtheydid not rea c h statistical signif i cance. Does not use the m o re advanced statistical m e thods.

W a rdRC, Lof t is JC, McBr id e G B

. 1990

. Design
o f

Wa ter Qua lity Mon ito ring S y

stems

. Van Nost ran d Rei n hol d, Ne w Yo r k

. Docu m e nts im portant featur es of design. I n cludes case studies.

Ware JH. 19 90

. Th e ro le o f ep id em io lo g y i n th e assessm ent of societal risk: a statistician’s pers pective. C h an ce: New Directio n s f o r St a tistics
an d C o m p ut i n g : 41– 7. T r acks the developm ent of new statistical m e thods for d e sign and analysis of chronic diseases . Arg u es th at, in sp ite o f inherent uncertainties, epide m iol ogy plays an essential role in risk assess m e nt. Wheele r D, Al exande r LM. 1992. As sessi ng the health risks of sea bat h ing. J our n a l of t h e In stitu tion o f

Wa ter a n d En viro nmen ta l Ma nage ment 6: 4 59– 67 (w ith d i scu ssi on ). Reviews the UK- c ontr o lled cohort an d uncontr o lled coh o rt studies. Questions the ef f ect of necessary p r e-publicity of possible self- r e porting of health eff ects in healthy-adult contr o lled- cohort tr ials. Conc ludes that using “capti ve volunteer ” populat ions of healthyadu lts has technical m e r it, but that “ t here is no epide m iologi callydefensible wayof linking the output o f such m e thods to the r e s u lts of m o r e conventional techniques for asse ssing risks in m a ri ne waters”

. Notes that the L a ngland Baypilot contr o lled c ohort studyvolunteer s’ rate of self- r e porting of sy m p to m s was very high and cor r e lated poor ly with clinical exa m i n ations.

W H O

. 1 986

. Co rrela tion b e tween Coa s ta l Wa ter Qua lity an d Hea lth Effects . Repo rt ICP/CE H OO 1
m 06. Wo rl d H eal th O r gani zat i on, C o pe nha g e n. Reviews known in form ation, and pr oposes pr otocol f o r car

ry ing out pr ospective epidem iological studies ( w ith input fro m Prof. Cabelli, and Drs Fatt al and Geldreich). Updated in ( uncited) docu m ents I C P/CE H 083/1 0 ( 1989) and E U R/I C P/C E H/103( S) ( 1991)

. W H O

. 1 998

. Gui d elines f o r Safe Recreati onal

wa ter En vironm en ts: C o a s t a l an d fresh- wa te rs
. Dra f t. Re p o rt EOS/DR AFT/ 98 .1 4. Wo rld Health Or gani zat i on, Gene va. Proposes 95 percentile guideline values for faecal strep t ococci ( p er 100 m L ) : 10 – NOAE L ( N o Obs e r v ed Adver s e E ffect L e vel) ; 50 – LOAE L ( L owest Observed Adver s e E ffect L e vel) ; 200 – value is abo v e thr e shold and L OAE L in m o st stu d ies; 1000 – der i ved fr o m li m ited evid ence concer ning typhoid fever

. W H O

. 1 999

. Hea lth-Ba s ed Mon ito ring o

f Recrea tion a l Wa ters: Th e fea s ib ility o f a new ap

pr oa ch ( T

he ‘A nn a pol i s P r ot oc ol ’)

. Worl d Heal t h Or gani zat i on, Ge neva

.
W H O

. 2 001

. Ba th i n g Wa ter Qua lity an d Hu man Heal t h : P r ot ec t i on of t

h e h u m a n envi r o nme n t
wa ter, san ita tio n and h e a lth

. Report WH O/S D E/ WSH/0 1

. 2

. Wo rl d Health Or gani zat i on, Gene va. Details of the application of the Annapolis Appr oach. Percentile values o f enterococci for ri sk based on expos u re conditions.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J28W H O

. 2 003

. Gui d elines f o r Safe Recreati onal Wa ter En vironmen ts: Vo lume 1 C o a s ta l a n d Freshw at ers . Wo rl d Heal th Or gani zat i on, Gene va. Provides a review and assess m e nt of the health hazards encounter ed dur in g r ecr eational use of coastal and fr eshwater envir o n m ents. A wide r a nge of hazar d s ar e addr essed, including water quality.

W i l k i n s o n J, Je nki ns A, Wy er M , Kay D. 1 9 9 5

. Mo d e lling faecal co liform d y n a m i cs in stream s and ri vers

. W a ter Researc h 29 (3 ) : 84 7–5 5. Field exper i m e nts and m odelling have been used to account f o r sedim e nt entr ain m ent and r e lease of bacter ia, as gover n ed by strea m f

l o w
. W ittm an RJ, Fl ick GJ. 199 5. Micro b i al
co n t am in atio n o f sh ellfis h: prevalence , ris k t o hum an healt h , and control strategies. Annu al Revi ew of P ubl i c Heal t h 16 : 12 3–4 0. I n the US the lar g est nu m b er of disease cases ar e of unknown aetiology

. T h e gr eatest per cen tage of known death ( 9 5 % ) is caused bynon- choler a vibr io. People with under l y i ng health conditions ar e the gr oup m o st at r i sk.

W y e r M D , Fleisher JM, G o ugh J, Kay D, Merrett H. 199 5. An inv e sti g atio n in to p a ra m e tric relations hips between e n terovirus an d faecal in d i cator o r g anis m s in th e co astal waters o f En gl an d an d Wal e s. Water Researc h 29 (8 ): 1 863 –8

. E x am ined a lar g e co m b ined dataset. T h e a m ount of variance in enter ovir u s concentr ation explaine d bybacter ial concentr ations was only15–16%.

W y e r M D , Kay D, Fleisher J M , Salm on RL , Jo nes F, G o d free A F , Jack so n G , Rog e r s A. 1 999

. An expe rim e ntal health-r elated classification for
m a rine wate rs. Water Resear ch 3 3 (3 ) : 7 15–2 2. Pr oposes a health- r elated bathing water standar dsy stem( b ased on gastrointestinal illness avoidance) using f aecal streptococci in units per 100 m L

. W a ter qualityis: ‘ good’ if m o r e than 50% of the FS distr i bution above 32 is bel o w 73; ‘m oder a te’ if m o r e than 50% of the F S distr i bution abov e 32 is above 73; ‘ poor ’ if
m o r e than 50% of the FS distr i bution above 32 is above 137;

‘ v er y poor ’ if m o re than 75% of the FS distr i bution abo v e 32 is above 137.

RE FE REN C E S AN D F U RT HE R RE AD IN G. June 2003 

### J29

# About the Ministry for the Environment

The M i ni stry f o r

th e E n vi r o n m ent wo r k s wi th ot hers t o i d e n t i f y Ne w Zeal and ’ s e n vi r o n m ent a l pr obl e m s and get actio n o nso lu t i o n s

. Our fo cus is on t h e effects p e o p l e’ s everyd ay activ ities h a v e on th e en v i ron m en t, so o u r wo rk p r og ram m e s cove r bot h th e nat u ral w o rl d an d th e pl a ces w h ere pe o p l e l i v e an d wo rk

. We a dvi se th e Go ve rnm e nt o n New Zeal an d ’ s e nvi ro nm ent a l l a ws, p o l i c i e s, st an dards an d gui del i n es, m oni t o r how t h ey are working i n pract ice, and ta ke an y action ne ededto im p r o v e th em . Th ro u gh r e p o r tin g on t h e state of

o u r en vi r o n m ent , we hel p rai s e com m uni ty aware n ess an d p r ovi de th e i n f o rm at i on ne eded by deci si on m a kers. W e al so pl ay o u r part i n i n t e r n at i o n a l act i on o n gl obal e n vi r onm ent a l i ssues

. Onbe hal f o f th e M i ni st er f o r t h e E n vi ro nm ent , w h o ha s dut i e s u n d er vari o u s l aws, we re po rt onl o cal go ve rnm e nt pe rf orm a nce o n e nvi ro nm ent a l m a t t e rs and o n t h e w o rk o f t h e En vi r onm ent a l R i sk M a na ge m e nt Aut h ority and t h e E n ergy E ffi ci ency and C o nservation Aut h ority.
B e si des t h e En vi r onm ent Act 19 8 6 un de r wh i c h i t was set u

p , t h e M i ni stry i s res p onsi b l e fo r a d m i ni st ering t h e Soi l C o nse r vat i on an d R i ve rs C ont r o l Act 1 9 4 1 , th e R e so u r ce M a na gem e nt Act 1 9 9 1 , th e Oz one Lay e r Protection Act 1996, an d the Hazardous Su bstances an d Ne w Organism s Act 1996.

He ad Office
Gran d A n ne xe B u i l d i n g 84 Boulcott Street PO B o x 10- 362 Wel l i ngt on , N e w Zeal and Pho n e (04 ) 917 7 400 , f a x (04) 9 1 7 75 23 Int e r n et ww w. m f e.govt

. n z

Nor t he rn Re gions Offi ce 8–10 Whitaker Place PO B o x 827 0 Auc k lan d Pho n e (09 ) 913 1 640 , f a x (09) 9 1 3 16 49

So uth I s l and Of f i ce Level 4 Price Water h o u se Ce ntre 11 9 Arm a gh St reet PO B o x 134 5 Ch ristchu r ch Pho n e (03 ) 963 0 940 , f a x (03) 9 6 3 20 50

AB OUT T H E MINI ST RY F O R T H E EN VI RON M EN T. June 2003 

### J30

# Registration Form

The M i ni st ry f o r

t h e E n vi r o n m ent m a y fro m t i m e t o t i m e un de rt ake u pda t e s of th ese g u i d el i n es. I f y o u w oul d like to receive any upd ated se ctions or updated s o ft ware , pleas e com p lete this form and return it to:
Im pl em ent a ti on Team M i ni stry fo r t h e En vi r onm ent PO B o x 10- 362 Wel l i ngt on Attn: Busi ness Adm i nistrator
Ph : ( 0 4 ) 917 74 00 Fax : ( 0 4 ) 914 7 523

C o m p any nam e :

____________________________________________________________________________ Position (of pe rson t o receive upda tes):

_________________________________________________________ Post al a d dr ess:

_____________________________________________________________________________

_________________________________________________________________________________________ Ph one:

___________________________________________________________________________________ Fax:

_____________________________________________________________________________________ Em ai l :

___________________________________________________________________________________

RE GI ST RAT I O N F O RM
. June 2003 

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