Survival of Pathogenic and Indicator Organisms in Ground Water

Abstract

ABSTRACT A comparative study was undertaken on the decay rates of three bacterial types ( S. typhimurium, E. coli and S. faecalis ), an enterovirus (poliovirus type 1) and a bacterial phage (f2) in ground water maintained under laboratory conditions. Except for f2 phage, all the microorganisms tested were relatively stable in ground water. S. faecalis survived best among all the bacteria tested and its decay rate was similar to that of poliovirus type 1. Under field conditions, bacterial indicators were also found to be stable in the ground‐water environment. The decay rate for fecal streptococci was lower than for fecal or total coliforms in the shallow wells.