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Day 4...
On this day it was made clear that most of what i have done in the past 33 years,
will no longer be done at the Health Department lab.
Ok, i expected this, but i am disappointed that the reason is because of disinterest.

So for a report -
the abstract of a published paper in the National Environmental Health Association Journal:

Predictability of Swimming Prohibitions by Observational Parameters

 

Authors: Joseph E. Kuntz, BS, RS

              Robert Murray, MS, Laboratory Director           

              City of Stamford

              Health Department Laboratory

              888 Washington Blvd.

              Stamford, CT 06904

              phone: (203)977-5843

              e-mail: Jkuntz@ci.stamford.ct.us.gov

 

Using compiled bacterial analyses to predict the water quality when certain conditions have been observed, provides a way to establish public health policy that is active when a problem exists. Conditions were reviewed using a geometric mean specifying different parameters which included the amount of rain in previous days, wind direction and speed, tides and high tide height, water temperature, drought or flood conditions for the season, different materials coming into the swimming areas and the location and amount of any sewage spills. Only three events showed statistical significance (Chi-Squared P < 0.0001): rain events of 1.00 inch or more in a 24 hour period under normal weather conditions, rain events in a 24 hour period under drought conditions over 0.75 inches, and when "floatable" material from distant sewage spills (i.e. grease balls) are present at a beach. This evaluation enables a public health policy which restricts swimming when conditions are present that constitute a public health concern without needing to wait for bacteriological examinations to prove a problem exists.