Safe to swim with the bugs? From hazard identification to risk management

Human and animal faeces can contaminate natural waters that are used for recreation. This can result in disease and significant risk to public health. This thesis developed a framework to improve existing assessment methods for sources of faecal pollution in waterways, associated risks, and health and economic impacts to the community by using novel genetic approaches. This framework was applied to the Yarra River as a case study. It was found that the river had low levels of mainly animal faecal pollution, but was safe to swim.