Bacterial Counts & Public Health

In water quality science we can count total coliform bacteria in order to determine the concentration of bacteria pre and post water treatment.  We can also differentiate the types of bacteria there are.  There are 2 main branches of bacteria: autotrophs & heterotrophs. Heterotrophs are bacteria like deadly E. Coli that are harmful for people if consumed.

So by differentiating type of the bacteria and the concentration of bacteria we can theorize what is causing poor water quality and what would be the best treatment to apply to the impaired source of water.  These tools are important because without water that is free from bacterial contamination developers and water suppliers cannot deliver water to the public.  The Total Coliform Rule is one such regulation that dictates drinking water bacterial concentration and steps to prevent bacterial outbreaks. I love when science and the regulatory world work together to protect the public the most.

California Mussels & Water Quality Regulations

Mytilus californianus or the California mussel is the keystone species pictured below:

California Mussel

Wikipedia – California Mussel

The muscle can be used to determine if there are toxic substance in an estuarine environment.  The mussel has been transplanted in areas along the California coast where dischargers could be expelling toxic substances.  The mussel will die if trace metals or synthetic organic chemicals exceed limits tolerable to the species. Mussels were chosen as an indicator organism for their ability to concentrate the toxics above ambient sea water levels (becuase their tissues will absorb the toxics & not release then), ability to provide a composite sample (time averaged), and the fact that they are stationary allows scientists to ensure the impacted water is coming from a specific source.

The mussels are extracted in areas of Special Biological Significance and tested for the SOCs and trace metals applicable to the monitoring requirements of the Mussel Watch Program (MWP).  The results of the MWP are published annually and have so since 1978. 

The MWP is one of three programs in the state of California started to adhere to the Porter-Cologne Water Quality Control Act (Section 13163) to establish a coordinated Primary Water Quality Monitoring Network.  The results of the MWP along with the Toxic Substance Monitoring and Bay Protection and Toxic Cleanup Programs are compiled into reports to satisfy requirements of the Federal Clean Water Act (sections 104, 106, 208, 301, 303, 304, 305, 307, 308, 314, & 402). San Diego Region Basin Plan

Low Voltage qPCR??

Today I stumbled upon the most amazing no-lab DNA analysis technique. I found this post after redearching primers and probes associated with human beauty gene expressions. I wondered if people were currently marketing personalized dna analysis that match the perfect skin care products.

I was interested to find a mechanical engineering professor from Imperial College in London who combined low voltage circuits with a DNA analysis called PCR.  I wondered how that application would work in an environmental setting such as the one I work in.  For example, inspector sites require a bacteriological test that can take up to 48 hours for results. That is a lot of wait time considering building crews halt work until a passing grade is reached.  For a test that only takes 30 minutes for analysis time, that is amazing! 

Of course I will be interested how he determines viability of cells and it is exciting to watch how the technique will be regulated.

Free the Code!

Yesterday I stumbled upon a website advocating for open and free access to the regulations that govern the society you live in. Predominantly posted on their home page was a 20 minute video explaining what they do. The film makers asked a variety of people, from Tim O’ Reily (O’ Reiley Media) to the fire captain of Sonoma County.  The video also showed people from an organization called Free the Code liking the government regulations to source code. Free the Code works to provide access to code that you currently have to pay a lot of money for. The website seeks to provide all of the government’s laws and regulations online for free. The website can be found here: https://law.resource.org/

It got me thinking, open source programming code has allowed so many people to access the internet and to make hardware work in more interesting and innovative manners.  Could opening up the structure of democracy (the health and safety rules and regulations) spread democracy faster and more humane than war?