Comparison of Fecal Coliform Before and After Wastewater Treatment Facility: a Case Study near a Coastal Town in the Southeastern USA

Bhat, Shirish; Danek, L. J.

Comparison of Fecal Coliform Before and After Wastewater Treatment Facility: a Case Study near a Coastal Town in the Southeastern USA

2012

Bhat, Shirish | Danek, L. J.

A central wastewater treatment facility was built in 1997 for the town of Suwannee that eliminated 850 inadequately operating on-site sewage treatment and disposal systems. During a study in 1989–1990, Salmonella were detected in Suwannee River water samples upstream and downstream of the town of Suwannee. This study presents the findings of fecal coliform distribution between the years 1996 and 2009 in canals and the main stem of Suwannee River near the town of Suwannee, a coastal area in southeastern USA. Fecal coliforms were measured and assessed to evaluate the water quality before and after the installation of the central wastewater treatment facility. In the canals nearby the town of Suwannee, significant differences in fecal coliform concentrations were detected between the samples collected before and after the operation of the central wastewater treatment facility. Average fecal coliform of 537 most probable number (MPN)/100 ml in the canals in 1996 was reduced to 218 MPN/100 ml after the operation of wastewater treatment facility. The fecal coliform levels in canals decreased significantly in the last 13 years. Even though the average fecal coliform levels in the river was reduced from 170 to 86 MPN/100 ml before and after the installation of the wastewater treatment facility, respectively, the difference was not statistically significant.

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