Physical Sciences and Mathematics Commons^™

Sources And Long-Term Trends In Fecal Bacteria Contamination In The Fresh And Marine Waters Of The Grand Strand, Cara E. Schildtknecht

Electronic Theses and Dissertations

Microbial water quality is of significant concern in the two watersheds of the Grand Stand. Polluted runoff, malfunctioning septic tanks, and centralized sanitary sewer failures are common sources of fecal bacteria contamination in coastal areas and pose a threat to human health through recreational use of waterbodies and shellfish consumption. Volunteer water quality monitoring programs are crucial in expanding upon assessments of fecal bacteria contamination by regulatory monitoring. Bacteria monitoring data collected by volunteers and Coastal Carolina University’s Environmental Quality Laboratory has been used to identify sites to be investigated by microbial source tracking. Microbial source tracking has been used …