Identification of the source of faecal pollution in contaminated rivers.

Identifying the source of faecal pollution is important to enable appropriate management of faecal pollution of water. Four independent assays for faecal source discrimination have been developed and implemented in our lab. These assays detect fluorescent whitening agents, faecal sterols, Bifidobacterium adolescentis and Rhodococcus coprophilus. The combination of these indicators is able to identify human derived faecal pollution in rivers containing inputs from septic tanks, municipal oxidation ponds, farmed animals and feral animals.