Aces – Water, climate and health: from the environmental protection of resources, to access to water, to safety of use
The project aims to implement the Water and Health Protocol and to develop a risk assessment methodology for bathing waters, based on prevention criteria and a One Health perspective. In practice, it promotes the safe use of areas for recreational purposes. The project began in November 2023 with the definition of the investigation protocol and the selection of the study areas on which the risk analysis will be based.
For the characterization of the study areas, five sampling points plus one blank were defined along a stretch of Adriatic coast (Ortona–Pineto) and along a stretch of Tyrrhenian coast (Fregene–Passoscuro). The monitoring schedule includes three sampling periods—May, July, and September—for both 2024 and 2025.
Samples of water, marine and beach sediments, and biota (clams and tellins) were collected to perform chemical analyses (heavy metals, PAHs, and PCBs), microbiological and virological analyses (pathogenic bacteria and viruses), as well as metagenomic analyses such as eDNA and the detection of gene sequences associated with antimicrobial resistance. Both the sampling and analytical activities were carried out in accordance with the timeline established for 2024 and 2025.
An initial data processing was performed based on the results of the analyses conducted in 2024. The final analyses of the samples collected in 2025 are currently underway; their results are to be processed by the end of 2025 and used, together with those from the previous year, to validate the risk analysis methodology, which is currently under development.