Total and fecal coliforms and E. coli in irrigation water in the O'Higgins Region, Chile
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.51252/revza.v6i2.1732Keywords:
Total coliforms, Fecal coliforms, Escherichia coli, Irrigation water, Membrane filtrationAbstract
Irrigation water constituted a relevant vehicle of microbiological contamination in the O'Higgins Region, Chile. The objective of this study was to analyze the presence and concentration of total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC) and Escherichia coli in canal and well irrigation water using membrane filtration. Twenty-five water samples (13 from canals and 12 from wells) were collected between March and June 2025 in eight municipalities of the Cachapoal and Colchagua provinces, and processed at the Food Safety Laboratory of the Universidad de O'Higgins by cellulose membrane filtration, using Chromocult and m-FC agar. Presence was compared between sources using the Chi-square test, and concentration using one-way ANOVA. TC were detected in 88.0% of samples, FC in 56.0%, and E. coli in 16.0%. Statistically significant differences between canal and well water were found only for E. coli (p = 0.036); TC and FC showed no significant differences between sources. Membrane filtration allowed quantification of relevant microbiological contamination in both source types, and water origin alone did not explain overall coliform contamination.
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