Biological Testing- Relationships, Occurrences, and Trends of Groundwater Bacteria in Potable Wells

The presence of bacteria within potable water wells is widespread and responsible for a variety of problems such as; loss of production, decreased water quality, corrosion, and increased health risks. Specialized testing which assesses the microbial makeup of a sample from multiple vantage points offers a more complete picture of conditions. Rapid screening techniques used to quantify and profile the overall bacterial populations, as well as identification of the more prominent bacterial species within water allows for a comprehensive assessment of the biological conditions within a well.

 

This approach was used within a laboratory setting to examine the biological communities in thousands of samples from potable water wells since 2010. Data from those analyses was compiled to determine what relationships, occurrences, and trends developed. This presentation will offer a discussion of the results of that testing and the observations and interpretations of the laboratory data will be addressed. Links between total cell counts, population maturity, the presence of nuisance organisms and coliform bacteria derived from the data will be discussed in relation to target levels for limiting biological fouling and reported concerns identified prior to sampling.