Presentation at the River Network "River Rally" conference in Baltimore, Maryland May 29th - June 1st. Our workshop discussed Milwaukee Riverkeeper\'s IDDE program specifically focused on bacteria monitoring for human sewage, using genetic testing to determine the presence of Bacteroides, a specific human marker for human sewage. We discuss how many stormwater outfalls we found containing human sewage, our documentation of the data, the use of GIS and Google Maps and Google Earth for displaying the data and how to move forward to fix this serious human health risk and pollution problem. Cheryl Nenn and I co-presented this presentation/workshop. Slides 11 - 32 were presented by me, while Cheryl presented slides 2 - 10 and 33 - 34.

1. Reducing Bacterial Contamination in Waterways Cheryl Nenn: Milwaukee Riverkeeper Jason Schroeder: Water Quality Assistant

2. Milwaukee Riverkeeper Our mission is to protect water quality and wildlife habitat and advocate for sound land use in the Milwaukee, Menomonee, and Kinnickinnic River Watersheds. Our vision is for fishable and swimmable waters in our rivers and Lake Michigan.

3. We are the Milwaukee Riverkeeper® One of 188+ Waterkeepers around the world licensed by the Waterkeeper Alliance, based in New York We are an independent watchdog for the river We respond to citizen concerns and complaints We find solutions to environmental problems affecting our waterways We have a physical presence on the river, coordinate citizen based stream monitoring, and bacterial monitoring/illicit discharge detection www.milwaukeeriverkeeper.org

4. SEWRPC Regional Water Quality Plan Riverkeeper served on the Technical Advisory Committee Menomonee model robust with data at 18 assessment points (USGS, DNR, MMSD, citizens) Modeling showed fecal coliform levels in one section of the Menomonee River (between Burleigh and 60th) that regularly exceeded the recreational use standard (200 colonies/100 mls) by 15 times. Max fecal coliform was 1,500 times the standard!

5. Diagnosing a Problem Modeling showed bacterial levels much higher than anticipated from stormwater runoff alone—subsurface flows suspected Model predictions did not calibrate with field collected data, and bacteria were high during “dry” weather in this section Likely source of bacteria from aged and failing sanitary sewage and stormwater infrastructure (illicit discharges and cross connections)

6. Why Fecal Coliform? Fecal coliform was selected for modeling because they can be used as an indicator of human sewage We have water quality standards for fecal coliform in WI (NR 102) Large amount of data existed for fecal coliform due to regulatory standard. Fecal used as recreational use standard for beach closings (E. coli standard also exists)

8. E. coli, Enterococcus, Bacteroides, oh my E. coli — found in many animals/short lived/but can be counted “dead” Enterococcus — more human specific/lives longer/less accurate Bacteroides marker—common marker that is unique to humans and not found in other hosts (cows, raccoons, etc). Sometimes genes can be inhibited by other pollutants (heavy metals, etc); DNA extraction can be inefficient DNA Gene target

9. Overall Project Overview Where should we study? 8 mile area of Menomonee River and adjacent tributaries that discharge to this area What parameters should we monitor for? E. coli, Enterococcus, Bacteroides (for selected “suspicious” outfalls) Who will test (who will pay), when, and how? Riverkeeper does sample collection; UWM-GLWI does testing; tests during dry and wet weather

10. Planning phase GIS data acquisition - can be a lengthy process Obtain data for study area Does area cover multiple municipalities? (One stop shopping?) Types of GIS data Stormwater outfalls (local Sewerage District) Storm sewers (local Sewerage District) Aerial imagery (local planning department) Hydrology layers (State DNR, USDA Geospatial Data Gateway)

12. Planning phase continued… GIS analysis to prioritize outfalls Which outfalls drain the largest areas? Which outfalls are likely to contain human bacteria? Residential areas Industrial areas Agriculture areas Print maps for identification & field sampling Send coordinates from GIS to GPS for hard to find outfalls Create form for field sampling

13. Form modified from: Center for Watershed Protection @ www.cwp.org

14. Sampling methods – Year One Grab all outfalls running in dry weather Grab as many outfalls during rain events as possible Sample directly at outfall via sampling pole Samples immediately stored on ice to preserve bacteria

15. Sampling methods continued GLWI cultures for E. coli and Enterococcus on plates Count bacteria colonies High bacteria counts are candidates for DNA testing for human marker (Bacteroides)

16. Resample/verification Many samples have questionable results Diluted from stormwater or interference from organic substances, metals, etc…

17. Further testing/retesting Sample all outfalls not tested in wet weather during the first year Classify tested outfalls as: “BAD” – need no further testing “GOOD” – need no further testing (requires 2 negative results) “QUESTIONABLE” – need further testing Prioritize questionable outfalls for retesting: Outfalls with highest bacteria counts and negative for human marker Outfalls with largest drainage area for 2nd year

18. Reasons for using a GIS Repository for outfall results and field notes

19. Reasons for using a GIS continued… Provide analysis for outfall prioritization Produce professional quality maps Provide documentation to Municipalities Export to Google Maps or Google Earth for public viewing Google Earth (basic KML editor) Import KML to Google Maps

20. Use of Google Earth Basic functions of a GIS to the desktop for free Satellite imagery already there Easy to share GIS data for others to view Export layers from GIS as a KML file KML file is an overlay on Google Earth Publish KML file on web site or email sharing Use as a KML editor Display and edit text, data, and images easily

22. “Export to KML” Google Earth or Maps

24. Google Maps and alternatives Constantly getting easier to make maps Advantage: Anyone can view – no special software Quick access Balloons allow display of data, pictures, text Promote our work to the general public, fundraise Can integrate our Citizen Based Stream Monitoring and Cleanup Sites

25. Bacteria statistics 93 samples analyzed for E. coli & Enterococcus E. coli ranged from 0 – 630,000 and greater (Too Numerous To Count) Enterococcus ranged from 0 – 1,300,000 Median = 2,620 Mean = 48,941 Geometric Mean = 3,465

27. Bacteroides statistics 144 total outfalls identified 93 total samples analyzed 48 during baseflow 45 during wet weather 74 unique outfalls (19 samples – duplicates) 46 during baseflow & wet weather 28 during wet weather only (40.5%) of outfalls sampled tested positive for human Bacteroides (30 of 74 outfalls)

30. GIS Resources GIS software: ArcGIS desktop for non-profits (ArcView, $175, 3D Analyst, Spatial Analyst, $195) - www.techsoup.org ArcGIS grants program (ArcView, ArcEditor, ArcINFO, extensions - Minimum $100) - http://www.esri.com/grants/ GRASS GIS (Open source, free) - http://grass.osgeo.org/ Google Earth (free) - http://earth.google.com/ GIS tools: Minnesota DNR GPS tool for ArcGIS (free) -http://www.dnr.state.mn.us/mis/gis/tools/arcview/extensions/DNRGarmin/DNRGarmin.html ESRI Export to KML script (City of Portland, free download) - http://arcscripts.esri.com/details.asp?dbid=14273 KML to Shapefile converter (online web browser, free) - http://www.zonums.com/online/kml2shp.php Shapefile to KML converter (free download) - http://www.zonums.com/shp2kml.html GIS data: USDA Geospatial Data Gateway - http://datagateway.nrcs.usda.gov/ U.S. Geodata – www.geodata.gov

31. Working with Municipalities Opportunity for partnerships with municipalities for illicit discharge detection and public outreach Help municipalities prioritize repairs Outreach to private homeowners regarding need for lateral repairs (e.g. 78th and Mt. Vernon); city pilot project Encouraging/supporting requests for stimulus, SRF funding, Great Lakes Restoration funding, etc. Milwaukee area alone needs $1B in sewer repairs

32. Stimulus/Infrastructure Funding State of WI SRF program: $200M per year Stimulus funds for wastewater in 2009: $106M Requested “shovel ready” projects for SRF in Wisconsin for 2009 (Intent to Apply): $1.2B Need for additional funds Need for new technologies (pipe sealing, end of the pipe treatments, etc)?

33. Help is on the way?! Southeastern Wisconsin Watershed Trust (SWWT) - goal to implement programs and practices that will most cost-effectively improve water quality Joyce funded NGOs — received funding to help create and implement watershed restoration plans (based on SEWRPC plans) for the Menomonee and KK Watersheds. Milwaukee 7 Water Council – focused on advancing technologies to improve water quality/making Milwaukee a freshwater tech “hub”and UN Global Compact City UW-Milwaukee - investing in new school of Freshwater Sciences and expansion of Great Lakes Water Institute And not a moment too soon!

34. Milwaukee Riverkeeper Phone: (414) 287-0207 Cheryl Nenn x229 cheryl_nenn@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org Jason Schroeder x235 jason_schroeder@milwaukeeriverkeeper.org www.milwaukeeriverkeeper.org

35. Bacteria Resources Great Lakes Water Institute (McLellan Lab) - http://www.glwi.uwm.edu/research/genomics/ecoli/index_sep08.php Bacteria research publications: Bower, P.A., Scopel, C.O., Jensen, E.T., Depas, M.M. & McLellan, S.L. 2005. Detection of genetic markers of fecal indicator bacteria in Lake Michigan and determination of their relationship to Escherichia coli densities using standard microbiological methods.Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 71(12): 8305-8313 McLellan, S.L. 2004. Genetic diversity of Escherichia coli isolated from urban rivers and beach water. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.70(8):4858-65 McLellan, S.L., Daniels, A.D. & Salmore, A.K. 2003. Genetic characterization of Escherichia coli populations from host sources of fecal pollution by using DNA fingerprinting. Appl. Environ. Microbiol.69(5):2587-94