Abstract:

Contamination of surface waters represents a global threat to ecological and human health. Assessing health risks and designing remediation strategies require an understanding of the source of contamination, including distinguishing human from non-human fecal sources. Current water quality monitoring regulations for fecal contamination rely on the detection of fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), which lack source specificity and can become naturalized in the environment. The more recent development of human-associated fecal indicators enables the detection of human fecal contamination; however, limited knowledge on the behavior and performance of these indicators hinders their implementation in water quality monitoring.

With the introduction of new human-associated indicators, there is a need to better understand their behavior in surface waters. The studies in this dissertation investigate human-associated fecal indicators and pathogens in water systems. Specifically, this research explores the detection of indicators in tropical waters, evaluates the persistence of indicators in coastal waters, and assesses the relationship between indicator concentration and health risk from pathogens in stormwater. The findings from this research can improve the interpretation of human-specific indicator concentrations in the environment and support their implementation as water quality monitoring tools.