Utilization of landscape indicators to model potential pathogen impaired waters

Many water bodies within the United States are contaminated by non-point so urce (NIPS) pollution, which is defined as those materials posing a threat to water quality arising from a number of individual sources and diffused t hrough hydrologic processes. One such NPS pollutant that is of critical con cern are pathogens derived from animal wastes, including humans. The potent ial presence of pathogens is identified by testing the water for fecal coli form, a bacteria also associated with animal wastes. Water contaminated by animal wastes are most often associated with urban and agricultural areas, thus it is postulated that by utilizing land cover indicators, those water bodies that may be at risk of fecal coliform contamination may be identifie d. This study utilizes land cover information derived from the Multi-Resolu tion Land Characterization (MRLC) project to analyze fecal coliform contami nation in South Carolina. Also utilized are 14 digit hydrologic unit code ( HUC) watersheds of the state, a digital elevation model, and test point dat a stating whether fecal coliform. levels exceeded State Water Quality Stand ards. Proportions of the various land covers are identified within the indi vidual watersheds and then analyzed using a logistic regression. The result s reveal that watersheds with large proportions of urban land cover and agr iculture on steep slopes had a very high probability of being impaired.