The New Hampshire Department of Environmental Services (DES) conducted two rounds of wet weather sampling in the Hampton Harbor watershed during 2002. Samples were collected from stormdrains, tributaries, and harbor stations for bacteria and flow in order to calculate bacteria loads. This information was needed to prioritize pollution sources as part of a Total Maximum Daily Load (TMDL) study of bacteria in Hampton Harbor (Trowbridge, 2003). Two of the 16 monitored stormdrain pipes were selected for microbial source determination using ribotype profiling. Stormdrain pipe selection was based on the bacteria loading data from the first wet weather sampling that occurred on 7/23/02. The two sampling sites identified as HHPS069 and HHPS182 contributed 12% and 60%, respectively, of the bacteria load from the 16 monitored stormdrains during the first storm event. It was determined that these two pipes would be targeted for more intensive investigations based on the high relative loading of bacteria. Thus, samples were collected during a second storm on October 16, 2002 from these two pipes and analyzed for source species identification using ribotype profiling.
Piscataqua Region Estuaries Partnership
New Hampshire Estuaries Project
Jones, Stephen H., "Tracking Bacterial Pollution Sources in Stormwater Pipes" (2003). PREP Reports & Publications. 343.