Current methods to measure microbial contamination in water sources rely on an 18-24 hour incubation period in order to determine levels of fecal indicator bacteria. The presence of the fecal indicator bacteria <i>E. coli</i> has a strong correlation to the presence of pathogenic bacteria that may cause illnesses when in contact with humans. Therefore, this long analysis time poses a problem to public health. Our lab has continued to adapt the rapid bacterial testing method known as EPA Method C: <i>Escherichia coli </i>in Water by TaqMan Quantitative Polymerase Chain Reaction (qPCR) in order to conduct this analysis in a timelier manner. The method has also been adapted to source track these bacterial contaminations. This is done by using specific primers and probes to differentiate between Bacteroides originating from general Ruminant, Bovine, and Human sources. With this information, we hope to understand where these contaminations are coming from in order to reduce their presence in the future. These analyses have been run on samples from various beaches and drains that lead to the Saginaw Bay in Bay County. Future research will entail further refining the aforementioned methods and developing new markers for other sources, specifically avian markers.

Quantification and source tracking of fecal indicator bacteria from beaches and drains of the Saginaw Bay Watershed in Bay County, Michigan

2019 Spring National Meeting

The official archive and repository for all ACS Meetings & Expositions abstracts and select posters or presentations.