dc.contributor.advisor |
McMartin, Dena |
|
dc.contributor.author |
Seeley, Christopher Frederick |
|
dc.date.accessioned |
2015-07-22T16:55:49Z |
|
dc.date.available |
2015-07-22T16:55:49Z |
|
dc.date.issued |
2015-03 |
|
dc.identifier.uri |
http://hdl.handle.net/10294/5800 |
|
dc.description |
A Thesis Submitted to the Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research In Partial Fulfillment of the Requirements for the Degree of Master of Applied Science in Environmental Systems Engineering, University of Regina. xv, 353 p. |
en_US |
dc.description.abstract |
Users of natural recreational waters may be exposed to physical hazards and pathogens
that are present in the environment. These pathogens may be natural or resulting from
human activities, which in turn can be from point source and non-point source pollution.
In Canada, recreational water quality monitoring generally falls under provincial and
territorial jurisdictions. An environmental health monitoring program developed through
this research attempts to characterize and communicate the physical and biological risks
associated with recreational water use.
Some items addressed during this research include:
1) Determination of the parameters correlated to water quality at beaches
2) Selection of beaches for further monitoring
Within the current research and monitoring approaches, there are gaps in knowledge with
respect to the factors that affect water quality at a recreational beach setting. While many
research papers have considered time series data from one or two beaches, there remain
questions with respect to which beaches should be selected for monitoring. Thus, the
following hypothesis was formulated and tested.
That the physical characteristics of a beach area are not correlated with water quality
when considered in conjunction with environmental factors (null hypothesis).
The hypothesis, which was rejected, is important as many jurisdictions only monitor a
select number of beaches. Based on the results from testing and subsequently rejecting,
the hypothesis, two models were developed. The first model attempts to explain the geometric mean of E. coli and includes such
parameters of significance as turbidity and Secchi disc data, residential density, water
temperature, pH, beach grooming, wind speed, stormwater runoff, parking facilities,
presence of seaweed and algae, numbers of swimmers present, bird populations and
whether or not pets are permitted at the beach area. The second model describes the
probability of detecting E. coli and can be represented by the same parameters including
turbidity (both average and maximum), water temperature, parking facilities, and
presence of seaweed and algae. Parameters that differ in this model include conductivity,
number of toilets, occurrence of rainfall in the previous 24-hours, and prevailing winds
both parallel and onshore to the beach area. Based on these two models, a process for
ranking beaches to select those that should be sampled in any given year was developed.
The following criteria were applied for making those environmental monitoring and
resource allocation decisions:
A significant residential density should surround the beach. In addition, the area
surrounding the beach can drain to the beach area
The beach should be popular with swimmers. This could perhaps be measured by the
number of toilets.
The beach should allow pets on the beach.
Waterfowl should frequent the beach area.
High amounts of seaweed and algae in the swimming area should be common. This
could be due to blue-green algae blooms.
The beach should have a parking lot available for users.
Beaches in areas with more wind should be preferred
Beaches where the water temperature is typically higher should be preferred. |
en_US |
dc.language.iso |
en |
en_US |
dc.publisher |
Faculty of Graduate Studies and Research, University of Regina |
en_US |
dc.title |
Analysis of Recreational Water Characteristics |
en_US |
dc.type |
Thesis |
en |
dc.description.authorstatus |
Student |
en |
dc.description.peerreview |
yes |
en |
thesis.degree.name |
Master of Applied Science (MASc) |
en_US |
thesis.degree.level |
Master's |
en |
thesis.degree.discipline |
Engineering - Environmental Systems |
en_US |
thesis.degree.grantor |
University of Regina |
en |
thesis.degree.department |
Faculty of Engineering and Applied Science |
en_US |
dc.contributor.committeemember |
Huang, Guo H. |
|
dc.contributor.committeemember |
Sharma, Satish |
|
dc.contributor.externalexaminer |
Das, Biplob |
|
dc.identifier.tcnumber |
TC-SRU-5800 |
|
dc.identifier.thesisurl |
http://ourspace.uregina.ca/bitstream/handle/10294/5800/Seeley_Christopher_196300488_MASC_EVSE_Spring2015.pdf |
|