Automated near-real-time monitoring of enzymatic activities in water resources

Sensitive and rapid detection of microbiological contaminants is essential for sustainable and proactive management of water resources. Because cultivation-based standard analyses of fecal pollution typically require more than one working day, these methods are not suitable for rapid water quality assessment. Alternative methods involving enzymatic activity measurements have been tested in various aquatic habitats. This chapter evaluates whether technical devices for automated measurements of enzymatic activity are technically robust for long-term on-site operation at groundwater and surface water monitoring- locations. It also evaluates whether automated Β-D-glucuronidase (GLUC) determination can be used as a proxy for culture-based E.coli analyses in various habitats or enzymatic GLUC activity measurements can be used as a general indicator for the fecal contamination of water resources. The chapter discusses some aspects of the proxy capability of on-site measured GLUC activity for culture-based analyses and the indicator potential of GLUC activity for fecal contamination of water.