Microbial Source Tracking in Santa Rosa Creek

Sonoma County has been experiencing an increase in unhoused individuals sleeping under bridges and along creeks. The public perception is that this population has a negative impact on the water quality creeks, despite a lack of data supporting that assumption. Since Fall 2022, Sonoma State students have partnered with the City of Santa Rosa Water Department to examine if there is a correlation between homeless activity and water quality in one of Santa Rosa's largest creeks, Santa Rosa Creek. Phase 1 of this study found higher E.coli bacteria levels in more urban sections of the creek, which showed a weak positive correlation with levels of homelessness. Phase 2 focussed on microbial source tracking, or genetic testing, of bacteria in the water to determine if the higher bacterial levels in the urban parts of the creek are a result of human waste entering the creek.