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Spring Creek at 15823 Sherbrooke Road Fecal Coliform bacteria

Total coliform bacteria are a collection of relatively harmless microorganisms that live in large numbers in the intestines of man and other warm-blooded animals. They aid in the digestion of food. While these bacteria do not directly cause disease, high quantities of fecal coliform bacteria suggest the presence of disease-causing agents. A specific subgroup of this collection is the fecal coliform bacteria, the most common member being E. coli.

Therefore, the presence of fecal coliform bacteria in streams suggests that pathogenic microorganisms might also be present and that swimming and eating shellfish might be a health risk. Since it is difficult, time-consuming, and expensive to test directly for the presence of a large variety of pathogens, water is usually tested for coliforms and fecal streptococci instead. Sources of fecal contamination to surface waters include wastewater treatment plants, on-site septic systems, domestic and wild animal manure, and storm runoff. read more about fecal coliform bacteria

Fecal Coliform bacteria concentrations range from 0 - 150 colonies/100mg. This concentration is fairly low. The two peaks in concentration (shown on the graph) were from non-typical rain events totaling 2.5 - 3.5 inches.

Because of the typical low fecal coliform bacteria numbers in Spring Creek from 2002-2006, and the lack of a farm directly adjacent to the creek, this test was dropped from analysis in 2007.

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