Guidelines for understanding and managing risks in recreational waters: Environmental health and safety survey

On this page

• Introduction
• Pre-survey preparations
• On-site visit
• Assessment report

Introduction

An environmental health and safety survey (EHSS) provides the foundation or "blueprint" for designing and implementing an effective risk management plan for recreational waters. It is a comprehensive search for, and assessment of, existing and potential water quality hazards (biological, chemical and physical) and their associated risks to the health and safety of the public at designated beach areas. The EHSS also represents a general review of all aspects of a beach's operation. Similar approaches, such as beach sanitary surveys or sanitary inspections, are used in other jurisdictions (NHMRC, 2008; U.S. EPA, 2008; U.S. EPA, 2013; Government of Alberta, 2019). The data collected during an EHSS provide beach operators, service providers and responsible authorities with the information necessary to make sound risk management decisions and to develop and maintain an effective beach monitoring program. The EHSS process consists of 3 basic steps: pre-survey preparations, the on-site visit and the assessment report.

An EHSS should be conducted on an annual basis, just before the start of the swimming season. This survey should:

• catalogue the recreational water area's basic characteristics
• identify any potential sources of fecal contamination in the immediate recreational area as well as sources that may be impacting the area from the larger watershed
• identify any other potential physical, chemical or biological water quality hazards that may present a risk to recreational water users
• evaluate the effectiveness of the monitoring programs and risk management measures (for instance, barriers) currently in place

The authority with the most knowledge of the day-to-day operation of the beach is the best candidate to lead this process. Not all potential impacts may be known to the lead candidate and collaborations with other persons or groups may be necessary. This may include collaborations with:

• the appropriate provincial or territorial management or regulatory authority
• beach managers
• public and environmental health departments
• wastewater infrastructure managers
• local universities and water researchers
• community members
• watershed or lake management groups
• individuals representing local business and industry

Pre-survey preparations

The pre-survey preparation step involves the collection and review of all information available on the beach and adjacent area, including reports of any previous surveys. It can provide valuable information on historical trends, problems and successes, which will help ensure a more thorough and efficient on-site visit. The type and quantity of information on any given beach will vary, but it is important to gather whatever information is available. Initial preparations may begin with a review of basic beach information, such as the beach's physical characteristics, the types of activities practised and estimates of beach attendance. The use of topographical maps, aerial photos and geographic information system (GIS) data (including delineation of any sanitary and stormwater infrastructure) can provide additional perspective and help in the identification of contamination sources, potential sampling sites and nearby land uses. The examination of historically accumulated data relating to microbiological results, cyanobacterial blooms, beach postings and disease surveillance will provide information on the area's suitability for recreation and the potential risks to swimmers. Assessment of hydrological, meteorological and other information on rainfall, currents, tides and prevailing winds can help identify their impact (either singly or collectively) on water quality. Information on potential point sources of contamination (for example, waste discharges from sewage, storm drains) and, in wet weather, sources of non-point runoff (for example, from surrounding urban, agricultural or forested areas), should also be collected. Regular communication between beach managers and agencies with wastewater infrastructure responsibilities can be important for identifying changes to sanitary or stormwater systems that could have impacts on recreational water areas.

On-site visit

The purpose of the on-site visit is to visually identify and confirm any existing or potential water quality hazards and to identify any barriers currently in place. Information may be collected on the existence and adequacy of public facilities, safety provisions and signage used for public awareness and communication. For the purposes of this EHSS, a hazard is an object or condition that may increase human health risk or pose a safety issue. A barrier is any risk management measure used to control hazards or reduce human exposure. For most swimming areas, contact with fecal contaminants in the environment is a significant health concern. Thus, special attention should be paid to the potential sources of fecal contamination, both point sources (for example, discharges or drainage that may contain sewage, stormwater or other fecal wastes including rivers/streams/creeks) and non-point sources (for example, domestic and wild animals and birds, upstream livestock and crop operations, stormwater runoff from the beach and surrounding areas, septic wastes, contamination from swimmers themselves). The risk to human health is more significant and the relationship between the indicators of fecal contamination (Escherichia coli (E. coli) or enterococci concentrations) and impacts on human health is more reliable when the contamination sources have the potential for high concentrations of human pathogens (for example, human and ruminant feces). Identifying these fecal sources is essential for understanding beach water quality. For beaches where information on fecal contamination sources is missing or incomplete, fecal pollution source tracking approaches can be considered (see Fecal pollution source tracking methods). Alternatively, beach managers should take a conservative approach and assume that all fecal contamination is from high-risk human and ruminant fecal sources.

Additional hazards can include:

• chemical hazards (for example, industrial discharges, contamination from marinas/watercraft)
• biological hazards (for example, cyanobacterial blooms, schistosome cercariae responsible for swimmer's itch)
• physical hazards (for example, litter, poor visibility, submerged items, riptides and strong currents)

Other information collected may be useful in identifying hazards that are less apparent. For example, the presence of large amounts of floating debris may be indicative of sewage (for example, condoms, tampon applicators) or stormwater discharges. An example of an EHSS checklist, which includes the type of information to be collected during an on-site visit, is provided in the Survey checklist.

Additionally, it is advisable to conduct site visits under both dry and wet weather conditions and, in the case of marine waters, under various tidal conditions. Certain contamination sources or events (for example, runoff, stormwater discharges) may be visible only during rainfall periods, and discharge pipes may be visible only at low tides or dry periods. Representative water samples should also be collected and analyzed to confirm the presence of contamination and to help determine its variability and source (see Water quality assessment). Shortened surveys may also be carried out throughout the swimming season at the time of microbiological monitoring. These can be used to collect more timely information about the recreational water area that can be helpful when interpreting the monitoring results. Such information has also been valuable in developing models aimed at predicting water quality (see Predictive water quality models).

Assessment report

Once the on-site visit is completed, priority water quality hazards need to be identified. Priorities should be based on the likelihood of exposure to a given hazard and the associated consequences. Factors that may contribute to a swimmer's exposure also need to be considered. These may include the proximity of the hazard to the swimming area, effects of the area's physical characteristics (depth, water circulation), potential weather influences, types and patterns of recreational activities practised in the area and impacts of any existing barriers. Particular attention should be directed towards identification and assessment of sources of human sewage and cattle fecal wastes. For example, in the case of a sewage cross-connection into a stormwater outfall or a combined sewer overflow, factors contributing to swimmer exposure include heavy rains causing a discharge of sewage material, currents or winds driving this material towards the swimming area and the absence of public communication methods to alert the public that contact with the water should be avoided for a period immediately following heavy rainfall. In some instances, the information collected may be used to help inform a quantitative assessment of potential health risks (see Quantitative microbial risk assessment). The risk assessment may also be used to identify potential points at which additional barriers may be needed to reduce the degree of human exposure.

The process should culminate in an assessment report which should be used when developing further beach management or operational plans (for instance, risk management strategies). In addition to reporting on the pre-survey preparations and the survey findings, it should specify priorities for action, identify barriers that may be implemented to protect recreational users and provide recommendations for an appropriate beach monitoring program, which should include water quality sampling as well as routine actions (for example, shortened beach surveys) that monitor the implemented barriers identified in the EHSS. The flowchart in Figure 2 (modified from Codd et al., 2005) shows a possible sequence of events when designing and implementing a plan to manage the risks for recreational waters. It may be used as a guide for beach operators, service providers or responsible authorities wishing to develop their own operational plans.

Figure 2 - Text description

This figure shows a possible sequence of events when designing and implementing a plan to manage the risks for recreational waters. This sequence begins with a situation assessment and continues to an assessment of priorities for action, the identifying of potential barriers, the appraisal of feasible barriers, a selection of options, the formulation of options into a management plan, the implementation of a management plan, the monitoring of the management plan's effectiveness and the revision of the plan as necessary.