Guidelines for Canadian Recreational Water Quality – Third Edition

Table of Contents

• Members of the Federal-Provincial-Territorial Working Group on Recreational Water Quality
• Acknowledgements
• Executive Summary
• Introduction
• Part I: Management of Recreational Waters
  • 1.0 The multi-barrier approach
  • 2.0 Environmental Health and Safety Survey
    • 2.1 Pre-survey preparations
    • 2.2 On-site visit
    • 2.3 Assessment report
  • 3.0 Barriers for protection of recreational waters
    • 3.1 Compliance monitoring
      • 3.1.1 Frequency of microbiological sampling
      • 3.1.2 Location of microbiological sampling
      • 3.1.3 Other monitoring tools
    • 3.2 Public awareness and communication
    • 3.3 Public health advice
    • 3.4 Hazard control actions
• Part II: Guideline Technical Documentation
  • 4.0 Recommended indicators of faecal contamination
    • 4.1 Indicator organisms for primary contact recreation
      • 4.1.1 Fresh waters: Escherichia coli (E. coli)
      • 4.1.2 Marine waters: Enterococci
    • 4.2 Advice regarding water intended for secondary contact recreational activities
    • 4.3 Other organisms as potential indicators
  • 5.0 Pathogenic microorganisms
    • 5.1 Bacterial pathogens
      • 5.1.1 Enteric pathogenic bacteria (Campylobacter, pathogenic E. coli, Salmonella, Shigella)
      • 5.1.2 Free-living pathogenic bacteria (Aeromonas, Legionella, Pseudomonas, Mycobacterium)
      • 5.1.3 Other pathogenic bacteria (Leptospira, Staphylococcus)
    • 5.2 Viral pathogens
      • 5.2.1 Enteric viruses
    • 5.3 Protozoan pathogens
      • 5.3.1 Enteric protozoa (Giardia, Cryptosporidium)
      • 5.3.2 Free-living protozoa
  • 6.0 Cyanobacteria and their toxins
  • 7.0 Other biological hazards
    • 7.1 Schistosomes causing swimmer's itch
    • 7.2 Aquatic vascular plants and algae
    • 7.3 Additional organisms
  • 8.0 Physical, aesthetic and chemical characteristics
    • 8.1 Physical characteristics
      • 8.1.1 pH
      • 8.1.2 Temperature
    • 8.2 Aesthetic characteristics
      • 8.2.1 Turbidity
      • 8.2.2 Clarity (light penetration)
      • 8.2.3 Colour
      • 8.2.4 Oil and grease
      • 8.2.5 Litter
    • 8.3 Chemical characteristics
  • 9.0 Faecal contamination and beach sand
  • 10.0 Faecal pollution source tracking
• References
• Appendix A: List of acronyms and abbreviations
• Appendix B: Microbiological sampling and analysis
  • B.1 Sampling procedures for water
  • B.2 Sampling procedures for sand and sediments
  • B.3 Sample transport, preservation and storage
  • B.4 Methods for microbiological analysis
    • B.4.1 Recommended indicators of faecal contamination
    • B.4.2 Pathogenic microorganisms
• Appendix C: Composite sampling for faecal contamination
  • C.1 Description
  • C.2 Introduction
  • C.3 Study results
  • C.4 Conclusions
• Appendix D: Recreational swimming area Environmental Health and Safety Survey (EHSS) checklist
• Appendix E: Example: Sample collection and reporting form
• Appendix F: Examples: Informative beach signs
  • F.1 Beach posting: example of an informative swimming advisory sign
  • F.2 Beach posting: example of an informative water suitable for swimming sign