HT-qPCR data on microbial DNA markers in archived bathing water samples

This dataset relates to the Environment Agency Chief Scientist report ‘Evaluating microbial DNA markers in archived bathing water samples’ (SC240046) which describes in detail the data collection, processing and analysis for this dataset.

The dataset relates to 235 bathing water samples originally collected in 2023 as part of the statutory monitoring programme which were stored as frozen filter membranes. DNA was extracted from these archived samples and analysed using high throughput quantitative polymerase chain reaction (HT-qPCR) for 36 microbial gene markers. These microbial markers were specific for a targeted set of pathogens, microbial source tracking, bacteriophages and other taxonomic species.

Data includes: - Sample timestamps and measurement details of E. coli, intestinal Enterococci and water temperature from statutory samples. - Data (raw Ct counts and gene marker abundances) from the samples analysis by the HT-qPCR instrument.

See the following files for information on attributes and their plain English descriptions: • Metadata_for_collated_result_data.csv • Metadata for raw HT-qPCR data.txt Attribution statement: © Environment Agency copyright and/or database right 2026. All rights reserved.

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Last Updated October 7, 2026, 08:09 (UTC)
Created October 7, 2026, 08:09 (UTC)