Bridging sanitary surveys and microbial evidence: Advancing recreational water risk assessment through community-based microbial source-tracking

Timothy J.Y. Lim; Johanna Engels; Muriel Lepesteur; Darren Cottam; Miriam Jones; Kelly Zuccala; Caroline Martino; Chris Garland; Anne Roiko; Alison Kemp; Fiona Lynch; Rebekah Henry

doi:10.1016/j.wroa.2025.100481

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Bridging sanitary surveys and microbial evidence: Advancing recreational water risk assessment through community-based microbial source-tracking

Journal article

Open access

Peer reviewed

Bridging sanitary surveys and microbial evidence: Advancing recreational water risk assessment through community-based microbial source-tracking

Timothy J.Y. Lim, Johanna Engels, Muriel Lepesteur, Darren Cottam, Miriam Jones, Kelly Zuccala, Caroline Martino, Chris Garland, Anne Roiko, Alison Kemp, …

Water Research: X, Vol.30, pp.1-10

2026

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.wroa.2025.100481

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Abstract

Enterococci

Hazard identification

Microbial source tracking

Recreational risks

Sanitary survey

To evaluate the suitability of water environments for water-based recreation, water quality guidelines rely on a risk framework based on the quantification of faecal indicator bacteria (FIB), and sanitary surveys. The purpose of sanitary surveys is to identify the sources of faecal pollution and their likelihood to contaminate the water environment. In general, FIBs such as enterococci are assumed to be primarily human-derived; an assumption that can lead to a disconnect between measured FIB levels and the broader site context, particularly in environments with multiple faecal sources. As a result, the framework often struggles to accurately link microbial contamination to specific sources and risks. This study investigates the application of community-based microbial source tracking (MST) with adjustment of FIB concentrations, via metaMST, to generate source-specific FIB profiles for eight Australian beaches. Results demonstrated that metaMST source proportioning could attribute enterococci levels across multiple faecal sources, better reflecting the reality of mixed catchments inputs. MetaMST analysis also revealed dynamic relationships between enterococci and antecedent rainfall, varying by source and site. However, sanitary surveys, when not conducted concurrently with metaMST sampling, often failed to capture site-specific spatial and temporal variability. In combination it was demonstrated that through integration of metaMST, hazard identification becomes more precise, enabling better-informed risk assessments and mitigation strategies that can better inform long-term management of risks to recreational water quality, in addition to reduced public health alerts associated with faecal contamination in recreational waters.

Details

Title: Bridging sanitary surveys and microbial evidence: Advancing recreational water risk assessment through community-based microbial source-tracking
Authors: Timothy J.Y. Lim (Corresponding Author) - Monash University
Johanna Engels - Griffith University
Muriel Lepesteur - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Darren Cottam - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Miriam Jones - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Kelly Zuccala - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Caroline Martino - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Chris Garland - Department of Environment, Land, Water and Planning
Anne Roiko - University of the Sunshine Coast, Queensland, School of Health - Public Health
Alison Kemp - Melbourne Water
Fiona Lynch - Monash University
Rebekah Henry - Monash University
Publication details: Water Research: X, Vol.30, pp.1-10
Publisher: Elsevier BV
Date published: 2026
DOI: 10.1016/j.wroa.2025.100481
ISSN: 2589-9147
Copyright note: © 2026 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Ltd. This is an open access article under the CC BY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/)
Data Availability: Data have been uploaded to NCBI SRA database; Scripts for bioinformatics analyses have been uploaded to GitHub. Enterococci readings are available in Supp Materials. All data were referenced in paper.
Grant note: The author would like to acknowledge EPA Victoria for providing research funding, as a collaboration between Monash University and EPA Victoria. The author would like to also acknowledge the Australian Medical Research Future Fund MRFCRI000195.
Organisation Unit: School of Health - Public Health
Language: English
Record Identifier: 991206278402621
Output Type: Journal article

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Web Of Science research areas: Engineering, Environmental; Environmental Sciences; Water Resources

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