Author(s)

J.F.P. Engelbrecht

Abstract

The use of indicators for evaluating the microbiological quality of the marine surf-zone water is a worldwide practice. It is important that the indicator used, is the most relevant in relation to bathers’ health. It must be easy to detect and it must be cost effective. This paper reports the comparison between the occurrence of faecal coliforms and Escherichia coli in the marine surf-zone. Both are found to be good indicators for marine surf-zone water quality. The maximum acceptable count per 100 mL sample must be set separately for each indicator used in relation to bathers’ health risk. Keywords: microbial indicators, faecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, health risk, marine surf-zone, water quality. 1 Introduction The microbiological quality of seawater is a serious concern when human health is involved. The health risk, posed by the microbial activity in the marine surfzone an

Keywords