Assessment of the microbial quality of irrigation water in a prairie watershed
2009
Aims: To assess levels of faecal contamination in the Qu’Appelle River (Saskatchewan, Canada) and its suitability for irrigation, by using the Colilert-18/Quanti-Tray technology.
Methods and Results: Various sites located along the Qu’Appelle River were sampled weekly from May to August 2005–2007. A total of 594 freshwater samples were collected and analysed for enumeration of Escherichia coli using the Colilert-18. The false-positive rate for E. coli detection using Colilert-18 was at most 1·5%. Throughout the irrigation period (June to August), up to 85% of the water samples collected from one of the irrigation water-pumping sites exceeded the recommended limit of 100 CFU per 100 ml. Spikes in E. coli counts were generally concomitant with the sudden rise in river flows. A sub-sample of confirmed E. coli isolates were typed by randomly amplified polymorphic DNA (RAPD). RAPD analysis revealed a high degree of genetic diversity among E. coli isolates. A significant association between RAPD patterns and the month of E. coli isolation was demonstrated.
Conclusions: Colilert-18 provides an effective means for assessing microbial quality of irrigation water.
Significance and Impact of the Study: Qu’Appelle River is subject to variability of faecal contamination during irrigation times and monitoring throughout irrigation season is important for ensuring safe production practices.
Keywords:
- Correction
- Source
- Cite
- Save
- Machine Reading By IdeaReader
36
References
17
Citations
NaN
KQI