Treatment of Dry Weather Urban Runoff in Tidal Saltwater Marshes: A Longitudinal Study of the Talbert Marsh in Southern California

Two regional studies conducted during dry weather demonstrated that the Southern California Bight (SCB) shoreline has good water quality, except near areas that drain land-based runoff. Here, we repeat those regional studies 36 h after a rainstorm to assess the influence of runoff under high flow conditions. Two hundred and fifty-four shoreline sites between Santa Barbara, California and Ensenada, Mexico were sampled using a stratified-random sampling design with four strata: sandy beaches, rocky shoreline, shoreline adjacent to urban runoff outlets that flow intermittently, and shoreline adjacent to outlets that flow year-round. Each site was sampled for total coliforms, fecal coliforms (or E. coli), and enterococci. Sixty percent of the shoreline failed water quality standards after the storm compared to only 6% during dry weather. Failure of water quality standards increased to more than 90% for shoreline areas adjacent to urban runoff outlets. During dry weather, most water quality failures occurred for only one of the three bacterial indicators and concentrations were barely above State of California standards; following the storm, most failures were for multiple indicators and exceeded State of California standards by a large margin. The condition of the shoreline in Mexico and the United States was similar following rainfall, which was not the case during dry weather.

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Trace Metal Pollutant Load in Urban Runoff from a Southern California Watershed

Journal of Environmental Engineering ◽

10.1061/(asce)0733-9372(2005)131:7(1073) ◽

2005 ◽

Vol 131 (7) ◽

pp. 1073-1080 ◽

Cited By ~ 24

Author(s):

Timothy N. McPherson ◽

Steven J. Burian ◽

Michael K. Stenstrom ◽

H. J. Turin ◽

Michael J. Brown ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Trace Metal ◽

Southern California ◽

Urban Runoff ◽

Pollutant Load

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A shallow-diving seabird predator as an indicator of prey availability in southern California waters: A longitudinal study

Journal of Marine Systems ◽

10.1016/j.jmarsys.2014.08.012 ◽

2015 ◽

Vol 146 ◽

pp. 89-98 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

M.H. Horn ◽

C.D. Whitcombe

Keyword(s):

Longitudinal Study ◽

Southern California ◽

Prey Availability

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Virulence Genes amongEnterococcus faecalisandEnterococcus faeciumIsolated from Coastal Beaches and Human and Nonhuman Sources in Southern California and Puerto Rico

Journal of Pathogens ◽

10.1155/2016/3437214 ◽

2016 ◽

Vol 2016 ◽

pp. 1-7 ◽

Cited By ~ 8

Author(s):

Donna M. Ferguson ◽

Ginamary Negrón Talavera ◽

Luis A. Ríos Hernández ◽

Stephen B. Weisberg ◽

Richard F. Ambrose ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Puerto Rico ◽

Enterococcus Faecalis ◽

Southern California ◽

Virulence Genes ◽

Urban Runoff ◽

Virulence Potential ◽

Virulent Strains ◽

Potential Sources ◽

Human Infections ◽

Beach Water

MostEnterococcus faecalisandE. faeciumare harmless to humans; however, strains harboring virulence genes, includingesp, gelE, cylA, asa1, andhyl, have been associated with human infections.E. faecalisandE. faeciumare present in beach waters worldwide, yet little is known about their virulence potential. Here, multiplex PCR was used to compare the distribution of virulence genes amongE. faecalisandE. faeciumisolated from beaches in Southern California and Puerto Rico to isolates from potential sources including humans, animals, birds, and plants. All five virulence genes were found inE. faecalisandE. faeciumfrom beach water, mostly amongE. faecalis.gelEwas the most common among isolates from all source types. There was a lower incidence ofasa1,esp,cylA, andhylgenes among isolates from beach water, sewage, septage, urban runoff, sea wrack, and eelgrass as compared to human isolates, indicating that virulent strains ofE. faecalisandE. faeciummay not be widely disseminated at beaches. A higher frequency ofasa1andespamongE. faecalisfrom dogs and ofasa1among birds (mostly seagull) suggests that further studies on the distribution and virulence potential of strains carrying these genes may be warranted.

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