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THE BACTERIOLOGY OF FARM WATER SUPPLIES: A STUDY OF THE COLONY COUNT IN 72 HOURS AT 22°
Author(s) -
THOMAS S. B.,
THOMAS BLODWEN F.
Publication year - 1955
Publication title -
journal of applied bacteriology
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.889
H-Index - 156
eISSN - 1365-2672
pISSN - 0021-8847
DOI - 10.1111/j.1365-2672.1955.tb02088.x
Subject(s) - sewage , bacteria , aerobic bacteria , biology , bacteriology , veterinary medicine , pasture , contamination , zoology , agronomy , environmental science , ecology , environmental engineering , medicine , genetics
SUMMARY: The colony count at 22° of farm water supplies from springs and wells was mainly composed of biochemically inactive, non‐pigmented, Gram‐negative rods. Water from a stream polluted with farmyard sewage showed a similar dominance of Gram‐negative rods, but orange or yellow pigmented colonies were more abundant. There were few 37° positive coli‐aerogenes bacteria in either the farm water supplies or the sewage polluted stream, and Bact. coli type I was rare. A high proportion of the bacteria from farm water supplies fermented milk in 3 days at 22°; a third developed acid, 15% proteolysis and 6.4% ropiness. Contamination of pure spring water with surface soil from a heavily grazed pasture resulted in a hundredfold increase in colony count with aerobic sporing rods replacing Gram‐negative rods as the dominant organisms, but coli‐aerogenes bacteria were absent.