The potential of near real-time monitoring of β-d-glucuronidase activity to establish effective warning systems in urban recreational waters

Urban water is a crucial element of cities for the purpose of events and recreation, raising concern over the water quality and related hygienic safety. In this study, a near real-time monitoring system of the beta-d-glucuronidase activity, the BACTcontrol, was tested in the canals of Breda city in the Netherlands in order to gain insight in its suitability to constitute part of an effective warning system for urban surface waters. Additionally, the qPCR method was also evaluated as a complementary method aiming at determining the E. coli or Bacteroides bacteria, while conventional culture-based measurements aiming at E. coli served as a reference. Analysis of the results obtained via monitoring and sampling during three consecutive bathing seasons revealed that the BACTcontrol demonstrated a timely but short response, implying that it was capable of detecting contamination peaks but not indicating when the water was hygienically safe again. This gap could be filled with qPCR measurements, which proved to provide reliable and fast results. Therefore, the combination of the BACTcontrol with qPCR measurements offers the opportunity to build an effective strategy concerning the use of urban surface waters for recreational purposes, based on timely information on the emergence and duration of contamination events.

Automated summary

This study tested a near real-time monitoring system and the qPCR method for assessing the hygienic safety of urban surface waters. The results showed that the monitoring system was capable of detecting contamination peaks but could not indicate when the water was safe again, whereas the qPCR method provided reliable and fast results. Therefore, a combination of these methods offers an effective strategy for evaluating the hygienic safety of urban surface waters.