Abstract:
Microbiological indicators such as Escherichia coli (E. coli) have been extensively
applied to monitor sewage contamination in waters and sediments. However, it has been
accomplished by many researchers that microorganism indicators of faecal pollution in
aquatic environments have limited applicability, owing to their lack of specificity and
variable life span induced by environmental factors such as sunlight and chlorination. This
review highlights the use of chemical indicators for faecal or sewage pollution monitoring. It
highlights that the differences in bile acid distributions in animal faeces could be utilized to
differentiate inputs in an environment. Furthermore, the high resistance to degradation by
some of the bile acids would make them better suited for long standing pollution compared to
coprostanol, as it is more readily degraded. Bile acid data could be used in conjunction with
other available evidence, be it ethnographic or as part of a multi-biomarker approach,
employing 5 -stanols and bacterial indicators, such as C. perfringens, to distinguish amongst
the different environmental inputs.
