Scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography present a new tool the public can use to understand sewage contamination levels at beaches from Coronado to Playas de Tijuana as well as potential risks of swimmer illness.
Scientists at UC San Diego’s Scripps Institution of Oceanography present a new tool the public can use to understand sewage contamination levels at beaches from Coronado to Playas de Tijuana as well as potential risks of swimmer illness.
The Pathogen Forecast Model hosted by the Southern California Coastal Ocean Observing System (SCCOOS) at Scripps shows the forecasted levels of sewage in the coastal ocean in the San Diego-Tijuana border region together with illness risk for ocean swimming. The Pathogen Forecast Model website provides detailed forecasts for Playas Tijuana, Imperial Beach, Silver Strand State Park, and Coronado of shoreline sewage concentration as well as estimated risk of illness for ocean swimmers. The aim is to enable families to make informed decisions about whether to take their kids to the beach on the weekend.
“The Pathogen Forecast Model has considerable skill in predicting five days into the future the beach water quality measurements made by San Diego County from Imperial Beach to Coronado,” said Scripps oceanographer Falk Feddersen, the project lead. “Of course, just like with weather forecasts, the model has error. It is still experimental.”
Read more: University of California – San Diego
Image: Warning sign at Imperial Beach, Calif. Photo: Erik Jepsen/UC San Diego
