Author(s): Roger Falconer; Guoxian Huang; Binliang Lin
Linked Author(s): GuoXian Huang, Roger Falconer, Binliang Lin
Keywords: Hydro-epidemiological modelling; Bathing waters; Shellfish waters; Sediment transport; Decay
Abstract: With increasing economic benefits associated with bathing waters and increasing consumption of shellfish internationally, water quality in coastal and estuarine waters has attracted growing public concern in recent years. Some bathing beaches have had to be closed temporarily and shellfish cultivation suspended because Faecal Indicator Organism (FIO) levels have exceeded minimum mandatory standards for public health. The relationships between FIO sources in upstream catchments and bathing and shellfish water quality are complex, since multiple processes and driving factors affect the transport and fate of FIOs through a river basin. To obtain accurate FIO predictions and better management of bathing and shellfish water compliance a novel integrated modelling system has been developed, including dynamic FIO process predictions from catchments, Combined Sewer Overflows (CSOs), river networks etc., through to estuaries and coastal waters. Details are given of the development of a numerical modelling system for simulating the transport and dynamic decay of FIOs from catchments to the coast. The model was validated to predict the distribution of FIO levels in the bathing waters near Blackpool and the shellfish waters of the Ribble Estuary, with both regions being key sites of public health concern in the UK. Extensive measured data from the various source inputs and measured concentrations in the estuary and coastal waters provided calibration and validation data for the modelling system. Comparisons between the measured and predicted results generally showed good agreement and highlighted the significance of sediment transport in providing an important FIO transport mechanism through the system.
Year: 2018