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  • Environmental factors associated with freshwater recreational water quality in Toronto and Niagara Region, Ontario

Environmental factors associated with freshwater recreational water quality in Toronto and Niagara Region, Ontario

  • 01 Apr 2021
  • 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
  • Webinar

Environmental factors associated with freshwater recreational water quality in Toronto and Niagara Region, Ontario

Speaker: Dr. Johanna Sanchez
Introduction: Dr. Jordan Tustin
Cost: FREE

Poor recreational water quality poses a risk of acute gastrointestinal illness (AGI) to beach goers engaging in water activities. In Canada, the concentration of Escherichia coli (E. coli) is regularly monitored by public health units to make risk management recommendations about beach water quality conditions. Laboratory processing times results in a delay in the availability of water sample results. As such, decisions about whether to post a beach as safe for swimming are based on previous day data. Freshwater beach E. coli concentrations are influenced by several environmental and climatic factors, which can result in changes to water quality conditions in a short period. A greater understanding of these factors could assist in timely decision-making processes.

We examined water quality data collected by public health authorities during the recreational bathing season from eight beaches in the Niagara Region (2011-2019) and 11 beaches in Toronto (2007-2019) and linked environmental data from federal and provincial weather stations.

This webinar will discuss recreational water quality in beaches located on two of the Great Lakes and present key findings of initial analyses of the association between environmental factors and beach water. We aim for the results of this study to be used to inform beach monitoring programs and reduce the burden of water-borne disease.

Dr. Johanna Sanchez, MIPH, PhD, Postdoctoral Fellow, Ryerson University, School of Occupational and Public Health is a postdoctoral fellow at the School of Occupational and Public Health at Ryerson University and an Honorary Fellow at the Faculty of Medicine at the University of Queensland. Her research interests include investigating enteric infection and the effect on health outcomes, particularly in the area of water, hygiene and sanitation. She has conducted research in densely populated settings in low- and middle-income, examining waterborne pathogens. Her current research explores the relationship between environmental factors and Escherichia coli concentration in freshwater beaches.

Dr. Jordan Tustin, MHSc, PhD, CPHI(c), Principal Investigator, Ryerson University, School of Occupational and Public Health is a PhD Epidemiologist and Assistant Professor at Ryerson University in the School of Occupational and Public Health. She is a Canadian Field Epidemiologist fellow, a CIHR Public Health Policy fellow, a Certified Canadian Public Health Inspector, and was awarded a Queen Elizabeth II Diamond Jubilee Medal for her service to public health in Canada and abroad. She has extensive field experience in communicable disease investigations and response at the local, provincial, federal and international level.


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