Molecular detection of human fecal pollution at Hawaii beaches

Beaches in Hilo Hawaii were assessed for human fecal pollution. Over a period from July 2020 to July 2021, 284 water samples from coastal and wastewater sources around Hilo, Hawaii, USA were filtered onto sterile 0.2 micron mixed cellulose ester membrane filters with a 47 mm diameter (Millipore, USA) and the exact filtrate volume was recorded (200-400 mL, 25 mL for sewage related samples). Bacterial DNA was extracted from filters using the FastDNA spin kit for soil (MP Biomedicals, USA) according to a slightly modified protocol from the manufacturer: cells were mechanically lysed using a MP Biomedicals FastPrep-96 bead beater for 2 min.