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Sea
Technology
July 2004 |
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DNA Fingerprinting Finds Fecal Coliform Contaminating Water
A recently completed study of water quality in New Bedford Harbor, Massachusetts, conducted by Applied Science Associates, Inc. of Narragansett, Rhode Island, took new approach to evaluate sources contributing pollution to the harbor. For years, people have been concerned about pollution in New Bedford (MA) Harbor, with concerns raised over what human beings and water treatment plants might be dumping into the bay. A recently completed study of water quality in New Bedford Harbor, commissioned by the New Bedford Harbor Trustee Council and conducted by Applied Science Associates (ASA), took a new approach to evaluate sources contributing pollution to the harbor. The study combined a field sampling program and computer modeling with DNA fingerprinting analysis to identify and quantify sources contributing fecal coliform (FC) to the waters of Outer New Bedford Harbor.
Potential for FC contamination is the primary concern affecting the decision of the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries to restrict harvesting of shellfish in Outer New Bedford Harbor.
A field survey was conducted by EA Engineering, Science and Technology, Inc. (Hunt Valley, Maryland) to characterize the FC sources contributing to and resulting FC levels found in the harbor. Water samples from the field program were then subjected to DNA fingerprinting analysis to determine the origin of the FC at each of the identified sources. Finally, a modeling study was undertaken to evaluate the effect of each of the identified sources on the distribution of FC in the outer harbor.
Water samples were collected at 21 stations in and around New Bedford Harbor. Sampling began in April 2002 and continued until July 2003.
The samples were tested using a method that can distinguish the differences between human and animal ribonucleic acid (RNA) to determine the organisms associated with the fecal pollution in the water.
The conclusions from the computer modeling combined with the DNA fingerprint analysis indicate that humans are a minor source of FC relative to other animals for New Bedford Harbor. DNA fingerprinting techniques indicate that birds are the dominant source of FC in the harbor, with rodents and raccoons also significant contributors. Humans were found to account for only a small fraction (approximately seven to 15 percent) of the total FC entering the outer harbor.
FC concentrations were found to be relatively low throughout most of the harbor, with higher concentrations limited to near-shore areas.