Muruleedhara N. Byappanahalli J.B. Rose Richard L. Whitman M.P. Verhougstraete 2010 <i>Cladophora</i> in the Great Lakes grows rapidly during the warm summer months, detaches, and becomes free-floating mats as a result of environmental conditions, eventually becoming stranded on recreational beaches. <i>Cladophora</i> provides protection and nutrients, which allow enteric bacteria such as <i>Escherichia coli</i>, enterococci, <i>Shigella</i>, <i>Campylobacter</i>, and <i>Salmonella</i> to persist and potentially regrow in the presence of the algae. As a result of wind and wave action, these microorganisms can detach and be released to surrounding waters and can influence water quality. Enteric bacterial pathogens have been detected in <i>Cladophora</i> mats; <i>E. coli</i> and enterococci may populate to become part of the naturalized microbiota in <i>Cladophora</i>; the high densities of these bacteria may affect water quality, resulting in unnecessary beach closures. The continued use of traditional fecal indicators at beaches with <i>Cladophora</i> presence is inadequate at accurately predicting the presence of fecal contamination. This paper offers a substantial review of available literature to improve the knowledge of <i>Cladophora</i> impacts on water quality, recreational water monitoring, fecal indicator bacteria and microorganisms, and public health and policy. application/pdf 10.2166/wst.2010.230 en IWA Publishing Cladophora in the Great Lakes: Impacts on beach water quality and human health article