Jonathan Porter’s area of expertise is in microbial source tracking (MST) through catchments and efforts to implement MST within routine environmental monitoring. Within this, an important question is ‘are there different public health issues concerned with faecal contamination from different animal sources?’ A key aim is the use of science to minimise socio-economic costs of tackling diffuse pollution. This is an issue taken very seriously by water utilities and government, and which can have a significant impact on implementation of legislation, development funding and environmental regulation.
