SPONSOR:
Hawai‘i State Department of Health
PROJECT PERIOD:
04/06/2020 – 04/07/2021
ABSTRACT:
This project evaluates O‘ahu’s microbial coastal water quality. Nine hundred eighty (980) water samples will be collected over a twelve-month period. These samples will be analyzed for the indicator bacteria enterococci and Clostridium perfringens. The project has two objectives: (1) by screening a large number of water samples, we will identify problematic water samples that are typically rare, and where application of additional tests to identify the source(s) of contamination would be useful; and (2) provide timely water quality information for the Clean Water Branch (CWB) of the Hawai‘i State Department of Health, and the public in general. As both indicator organisms, enterococci and C. perfringens, provide limited information on potential contamination source(s), we will use sewage specific molecular tests to determine whether the samples containing elevated concentrations of enterococci and/or C. perfringens are compromised by sewage.
PRINCIPAL INVESTIGATOR
