When water quality tests are conducted at the beach to determine safety for swimming it typically takes 24 hours for results, which isn’t helpful for protecting public health in real-time. But a rapid method of testing can provide information about bacteria levels at the beach in just an hour or two, as discussed in this episode by its developer Dr. Rachel Noble, a Professor at the Institute of Marine Sciences at the University of North Carolina. Rachel explains that most states have not adopted the rapid testing for beach water quality and calls on the federal government to provide more funding for state monitoring programs, particularly because of the role of beaches as economic drivers. She also talks about further evolutions in water quality testing, including the use of autonomous vehicles to monitor water conditions.