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Recreational use assessment of water-based activities, using time-lapse construction cameras

Journal of Exposure Science & Environmental Epidemiology volume 22, pages 281–290 (2012)Cite this article

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Abstract

Recreational exposure to surface waters during periods of increased pathogen concentration may lead to a significantly higher risk of illness. However, estimates of elementary exposure factors necessary to evaluate health risk (i.e., usage distributions and exposure durations) are not available for many non-swimming water-related activities. No prior studies have assessed non-swimming water exposure with respect to factors leading to impaired water quality from increased pathogen concentration, such as weather condition (rain events produce increased runoff and sewer overflows) and type of day (heavy recreational periods). We measured usage patterns and evaluated the effect of weather and type of day at eight water sites located within Philadelphia, by using a novel “time lapse photography” technology during three peak recreational seasons (May–September) 2008–2010. Camera observations validated with simultaneous in-person surveys exhibited a strong correlation (R2=0.81 to 0.96) between the two survey techniques, indicating that the application of remote photography in collecting human exposure data was appropriate. Recreational activities usage varied more on a temporal basis than due to inclement weather. Only 14% (6 out of 44) of the site-specific activity combinations showed dry weather preference, whereas 41.5% (17 out of 41) of the combinations indicated greater usage on weekends as compared with weekday. In general, the log normal distribution described the playing and wading duration distribution, while the gamma distribution was the best fit for fishing durations. Remote photography provided unbiased, real-time human exposure data and was less personnel intensive compared with traditional survey methods. However, there are potential limitations associated with remote surveillance data related to its limited view. This is the first study to report that time lapse cameras can be successfully applied to assess water-based human recreational patterns and can provide precise exposure statistics for non-swimming recreational exposures.

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Acknowledgements

This work was funded by a local public utility. We additionally thank Dr. Timothy Bartrand, Ben Cohen and Edward Lennon for their valuable assistance and project support.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Civil, Architectural, and Environmental Engineering, Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA

    Neha Sunger, Sondra S Teske, Sharon Nappier & Charles N Haas

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  1. Neha Sunger
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Correspondence to Neha Sunger.

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Sunger, N., Teske, S., Nappier, S. et al. Recreational use assessment of water-based activities, using time-lapse construction cameras. J Expo Sci Environ Epidemiol 22, 281–290 (2012). https://doi.org/10.1038/jes.2012.4

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