Indicator bacteria and regrowth potential of the drinking water in Alice, Eastern Cape

Abstract

Alice drinking water has a brown colour sometimes which could imply that it is not potable. To assess the effectiveness of the purification works and ascertain whether the water distributed is safe for drinking, indicator bacteria namely, heterotrophic, total coliform, faecal coliform and injured coliform counts were performed using the membrane filtration method. In addition, the regrowth of heterotrophic bacteria, total and injured coliforms in the chlorinated water at 15°C ± 2°C and 23°C ± 2°C was recorded. All the indicator bacteria counts were above the South African acceptable standards.

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