The Rapidly Changing Field of Beach Water Quality Monitoring

Stephen B. Weisberg

Southern California Coastal Water

Research Project Authority

Blue Tech & Blue Economy Summit

November 7, 2013

IT’S AN EXCITING TIME TO BE A BIOLOGIST

• Molecular biology is mushrooming– We only first discovered the structure of DNA in 1953– Sequencing is now something routinely done by graduate

students

• Use of DNA-based measurement tools has revolutionized many fields

– Medical– Homeland security– CSI and all its offshoots

• Just beginning to affect the environmental field– Faster, better, cheaper– Opportunities abound

Beachgoers feel protected Reality

The Problem

Results in 24-96 hrs

The Solution

Results in 2 hrs

BEACH WATER MONITORING

IT’S NOT JUST ABOUT SPEED

• Accuracy– Culture based methods are

non-specific– This leads to false positives

• Host Specificity– We currently target indicators

that grow well in culture– Other less-cultivable organisms

are more specific to the human intestinal tract

– Opportunity to measure the taxa most appropriate to the problem

Enterococcus faecalisEnterococcus faeciumEnterococcus aviumEnterococcus casseliflavusEnterococcus gallinarumEnterococcus hiraeEnterococcus mundtiiUnidentified Enterococcusnon-Enterococcus

CHALLENGES IN TECHNOLOGY ADOPTION

• They are not technical– “Don’t let the perfect be the enemy of the good”– The need was there

• Its not technology transfer– We had to simplify a few steps, but they got it quickly– Had the practitioners part of the process early on

• We encountered three main problems– Sampling challenges– Creating a support infrastructure– Hidden costs

TIMING WAS THE BIGGEST ISSUE

• Sampling typically begins at 7AM and lasts three hours

• Sample processing takes almost two hours – If everything is ready to go when samples arrive

• Calculations and data verification adds an hour

• One more hour to notify the health department and for them to act on it

– An additional hour for people to go place out the signs

• It’s now 3:00 and the swimmers are coming out of the water

– Signs need to be up by noon to make this worthwhile

SUPPORT INFRASTRUCTURE

• Who does the training?– Right now it is us– We are a research entity

• Who certifies that your lab is performing adequately?– Right now it is us– We are a research entity

• Where do you buy your standards?– Right now, we are supplying them to the local labs– We are a research entity

HIDDEN COSTS

• Start up cost is not the impediment– Capital expenses are easier to justify than per unit cost

• Per unit cost is not an impediment – Will likely be comparable once suppliers create big lots

• First impediment is the confidence building cost– Health departments want an extended period using both methods

• Biggest impediment will be the push for more monitoring

– A rapid method doesn’t help if you only do it one day a week– Labs are struggling just to maintain existing programs

WHERE DO WE GO FROM HERE?

• Now that there is no culturing step, we can automate the process

• We have already developed a pier mounted prototype

– Telemetered to the web - check conditions before you leave home

– It will be deployed in San Diego (Ocean Beach pier) for three months in January

• The logical extension is a mooring mounted application

– We have that in prototype as well

HOW ABOUT AFTER THAT?

• Our next challenge is the suitcase model– Something that is so simple, a lifeguard can pour the water in and the

answer spits out an hour later– Will solve the sample transport time

• Addresses another need: Field portability allows us to track down spills

– Its not just about the warnings, it’s also about fixing the problem

• We will have that working in three years!– The biggest technical challenge is how to address field calibration– We think we have a solution

• Human health monitoring– Seafood safety– Harmful algal blooms

• Environmental quality assessment– Genetic barcoding to assess presence of natural biological

communities– Microarrays to measure sublethal effects

• Species management– Detection of invasive species in ballast water – Endangered species monitoring in foods, such as fish roe and fillets

WHAT ARE THE OTHER OPPORTUNITIES?

• Molecular opportunities abound

• The only things lacking are investment and industry participation

• Its economics of payback at this point, not technical limitations

THE FUTURE IS NOW

PRESENT APPROACH TO MONITORING FOR HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS

Ship-based water collection

Manually count species

Place sample on a slide

• Labor-intensive• Results can take

weeks

MOLECULAR APPROACH FOR DETECTION OF HARMFUL ALGAL BLOOMS

Moored Pumping Array

Automated assimilation into nowcast models

In-Situ Microarray Detection

Continuous data available on the web

Real Time Telemetry of

Data to Shore