URBAN IMPACTS ON RIVER SHORELINE MICROBIOLOGICAL POLLUTION

Impacts of urban sources on fecal bacterial pollution of the near-shore zone of the St. Marys River in Sault Ste. Marie, Ontario, were studied during the period from June to November, 1991. For this purpose, water samples collected from 11 river sites and from five fecal pollution sources were analyzed for coliphage, Escherichia coli, fecal coliforms, and Pseudomonas aeruginosa. Observed microorganism densities were used to assess the levels of fecal bacterial pollution in relation to bacterial sources and the compliance with the recreational water quality guidelines. Almost the entire reach of the river studied exhibited very good bacteriological water quality with low fecal bacterial concentrations and high probabilities (generally greater than 90%) of compliance with the recreational water quality guideline taken as 100 E. coli/100 mL.