How does your dip in a local watering hole affect the stream’s chemistry? Researchers who previously analyzed the impact of people swimming and tubing on a Colorado creek report updated observations in ACS ES&T Water. They find that these recreational activities over a busy Labor Day weekend have a short-term effect, increasing the levels of metals, human gut-associated microbes and substances from personal care products.
Researchers James Ranville, Carsten Prasse, John Spear, Noor Hamden, Carmen Villarruel and colleagues studied how recreational activities, such as float tubing, around the 2022 Labor Day weekend affected a natural stream’s chemistry and microbiome. They presented a preliminary assessment of chemical and microbial constituents at ACS Fall 2023 , a meeting of the American Chemical Society. Now, the researchers have expanded the analyses in Colorado’s Clear Creek to include additional organic contaminants. They sampled water downstream of a busy area with people tubing and swimming and compared the results to an undisturbed location upstream and a day with no one at the two sites. Their observations indicate changes in:
While high levels of tubing and swimming impacted the stream, the results from the study suggest that these types of human activities didn’t have long-term effects. However, the researchers say that native creek organisms could react negatively to prolonged or repeated exposure to metals, microbes associated with humans, or organic compounds of concern.
The authors acknowledge funding from the National Science Foundation and Johns Hopkins University.
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ACS ES&T Water
“Assessing the Impact of Recreational Activities on Streams: A Colorado Case Study”
29-Aug-2024