Relationship between coliform culturability and organic matter in low nutritive waters

Boualam, Marc; Mathieu, Laurence; Fass, S.; Cavard, J.; Gatel, D.

doi:10.1016/s0043-1354(01)00460-2

Cited by 27 publications

(26 citation statements)

References 22 publications

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“…It can therefore be concluded that the faecal coliforms test by the multiple tube fermentation technique is not totally specific for E. coli, and can detect other species. E. coli has been considered a good and "true" indicator of faecal pollution in environmental waters (Leclerc et al, 2001), since this species is found in high concentrations in the human and animal intestines, and has a restricted survival outside the gastrointestinal tract, in particular in the water environment (Boualam et al, 2002(Boualam et al, , 2003. On the contrary, Klebsiella spp.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Febros River (Northwest Portugal): Temporal Variation, Correlation with Water Parameters, and Species Identification

Cabral

Marques

2006

Environ Monit Assess

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Febros river water was sampled weekly, during 35 successive weeks, and analyzed for microbiological (total coliforms, faecal coliforms, faecal streptococci and enterococci) and chemical-physical (ammonia and temperature) parameters. All microbiological parameters were highly correlated with each other and with ammonia, suggesting that the simultaneous determination of all variables currently in use in the evaluation of the microbiological quality of waters is probably redundant, and could be simplified, and that ammonia should be tested as a sentinel parameter of the microbiological pollution load of Febros river. From the strains isolated from positive tubes of the faecal coliforms test (multiple tube fermentation technique) and retested in this assay, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella oxytoca and Klebsiella pneumoniae subsp. pneumoniae strains were positive, indicating that the faecal coliforms test is not totally specific for Escherichia coli, and can detect other bacteria. Considering that these Klebsiella spp. are not necessarily of faecal origin, it was concluded that the faecal coliforms test can overestimate true faecal pollution. From the strains isolated from positive tubes of the faecal coliforms procedure, only Escherichia coli strains were clearly positive in the beta-D-glucuronidase test. All other species were negative or very weakly positive, suggesting that the assay of the beta-D-glucuronidase activity is less prone to false positives than the faecal coliforms test in the quantification of Escherichia coli in environmental waters.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Febros River (Northwest Portugal): Temporal Variation, Correlation with Water Parameters, and Species Identification

Cabral

Marques

2006

Environ Monit Assess

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“…Atypical events (algal bloom, swelling, rainfall, etc.) capable of modifying the quality of the organic matter in raw and treated waters have been suggested to be a catalyst for coliform growth (3,18,23). Lake et al (15) showed that there is a strong link between the end of the algal bloom and the presence of coliforms in the distribution system, leading to a situation incompatible with health standards.…”

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confidence: 99%

Escherichia coli Behavior in the Presence of Organic Matter Released by Algae Exposed to Water Treatment Chemicals

Bouteleux

Saby²,

Tozza

et al. 2005

Appl Environ Microbiol

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When exposed to oxidation, algae release dissolved organic matter with significant carbohydrate (52%) and biodegradable (55 to 74%) fractions. This study examined whether algal organic matter (AOM) added in drinking water can compromise water biological stability by supporting bacterial survival. Escherichia coli (1.3 ؋ 10 5 cells ml ؊1 ) was inoculated in sterile dechlorinated tap water supplemented with various qualities of organic substrate, such as the organic matter coming from chlorinated algae, ozonated algae, and acetate (model molecule) to add 0.2 ؎ 0.1 mg of biodegradable dissolved organic carbon (BDOC) liter ؊1 . Despite equivalent levels of BDOC, E. coli behavior depended on the source of the added organic matter. The addition of AOM from chlorinated algae led to an E. coli growth equivalent to that in nonsupplemented tap water; the addition of AOM from ozonated algae allowed a 4-to 12-fold increase in E. coli proliferation compared to nonsupplemented tap water. Under our experimental conditions, 0.1 mg of algal BDOC was sufficient to support E. coli growth, whereas the 0.7 mg of BDOC liter ؊1 initially present in drinking water and an additional 0.2 mg of BDOC acetate liter ؊1 were not sufficient. Better maintenance of E. coli cultivability was also observed when AOM was added; cultivability was even increased after addition of AOM from ozonated algae. AOM, likely to be present in treatment plants during algal blooms, and thus potentially in the treated water may compromise water biological stability.In spite of the disinfection processes, bacterial proliferation can be observed in drinking water distribution network systems (20,26,37,42) proving that certain bacterial populations are able to adapt, transiently or permanently, to the oligotrophic conditions of distribution networks (16,17). This phenomenon has been described for fecal indicators such as coliform bacteria, particularly Escherichia coli (16), and poses the problem of compliance with water quality health regulations.Although multiple factors certainly affect microbial growth phenomena, organic matter in treated waters, mainly the biodegradable fraction, has a determining effect since it provides a carbon and energy source essential to the growth of heterotrophic bacteria, including coliforms (16,19,25,38,39,42). Atypical events (algal bloom, swelling, rainfall, etc.) capable of modifying the quality of the organic matter in raw and treated waters have been suggested to be a catalyst for coliform growth (3, 18, 23). Lake et al. (15) showed that there is a strong link between the end of the algal bloom and the presence of coliforms in the distribution system, leading to a situation incompatible with health standards. Algal products in the treated water were suspected of providing a good nutritional source for bacterial regrowth in the distribution system. In addition to the natural capacity of algae to secrete organic compounds, massive contamination at the inlet of a treatment plant using preoxidation can lead to algal cell lysis and re...

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“…The increase in concentrations of E. coli in the laboratory microcosms was attributed to the presence of nutrients (Bolster et al, 2005). Boualam et al (2002) studied the decay of several coliform bacteria in microcosms containing river water and found that, in those microcosms containing higher levels of dissolved organic carbon (DOC), bacteria took longer to decay. Another study reports that the addition of nitrogen sources to lake water led to an increase in E. coli survival times (Lim and Flint, 1989).…”

Section: Ecological Mechanismsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Factors influencing the challenges of modelling and treating fecal indicator bacteria in surface waters

Surbeck

2009

Ecohydrology

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In the United States, thousands of creeks, rivers, and coastal zones are listed as impaired in the Clean Water Act's 303(d) list. The number one general cause of impairments is denoted as 'pathogens', which can include known pathogenic organisms or, more commonly, fecal indicator bacteria (FIB), such as fecal coliform bacteria, Escherichia coli, and enterococci bacteria. Despite efforts by water quality managers to reduce FIB in surface waters via treatment, successful and significant reduction of FIB has been difficult to achieve to meet water quality standards. In addition, current efforts to numerically model FIB concentrations in surface waters do not consider many complexities associated with FIB as a pollutant. Reasons for the challenge of treating and modelling FIB are their varied sources and mechanisms of survival and decay in the environment. This technical note addresses this challenge by discussing the nature of FIB, their sources, and their fate and transport mechanisms. Sources of FIB to surface waters include wastewater, stormwater and dry-weather runoff, and animals. Mechanisms of pathogen indicator occurrence in surface waters are transport in stormwater, ecological proliferation, and interaction with sediments.

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Relationship between coliform culturability and organic matter in low nutritive waters

Cited by 27 publications

References 22 publications

Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Febros River (Northwest Portugal): Temporal Variation, Correlation with Water Parameters, and Species Identification

Faecal Coliform Bacteria in Febros River (Northwest Portugal): Temporal Variation, Correlation with Water Parameters, and Species Identification

Escherichia coli Behavior in the Presence of Organic Matter Released by Algae Exposed to Water Treatment Chemicals

Factors influencing the challenges of modelling and treating fecal indicator bacteria in surface waters

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