We performed epidemiologic studies at public freshwater bathing sites in Germany to provide a better scientific basis for the definition of recreational water quality standards. A total of 2,196 participants were recruited from the local population and randomized into bathers and non-bathers. Bathers were exposed for 10 min and had to immerse their head at least three times. Water samples for microbiological analysis were collected at 20-min intervals. Unbiased concentration–response effects with no-observed-adverse-effect levels (NOAELs) were demonstrated for three different definitions of gastroenteritis and four fecal indicator organisms. Relative risks for bathing in waters with levels above NOAELs compared with nonbathing ranged from 1.8 (95% CI, 1.2–2.6) to 4.6 (95% CI, 2.1–10.1), depending on the definition of gastroenteritis. The effect of swallowing water provided additional evidence for true dose–response relationships. Based on the NOAELs, the following guide values for water quality are suggested: 100 Escherichia coli, 25 intestinal enterococci, 10 somatic coliphages, or 10 Clostridium perfringens per 100 mL. Recreational water quality standards are intended to protect the health of those consumers who are not already immune or resistant to pathogens that may be associated with indicator organisms. In contrast to current World Health Organization recommendations, we concluded that standards should be based on rates of compliance with NOAELs rather than on attributable risks determined above NOAELs, because these risks depend mainly on the unpredictable susceptibility of the cohorts. Although in theory there is no threshold in real concentration–response relationships, we demonstrated that a NOAEL approach would be a more robust and practical solution to the complex problem of setting standards.

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