Faecal coliform bacteria found in potable water

Sumit Hakhoo

Tribune News Service

Jammu, January 30

Nearly two million population of the Jammu region are continuously exposed to water-borne diseases as coliform bacteria has been found in the samples of drinking water being supplied by the Public Health Engineering (PHE) Department in J&K.

Coliform, found in environment and faeces of animals and humans, indicates recent or continuous contamination of water at source, storage facilities, filtration plants and during distribution, revealing the sorry state of affairs and continued neglect towards public and threatening their health.

Sources said much of the water lifted from the Tawi was polluted and underground sources, which were being exploited by tubewells were also under the threat of contamination due to expanding human population in the past three decades.

“The Tawi that supplies 30 per cent drinking water in Jammu is mostly used as a drain. It is estimated that about 60 million litres of untreated sewage is directly poured into it,” said Sunil Kumar, am environmental activist.

Although bacteria directly do not cause illness but faecal contamination is a serious problem due to the potential for contracting diseases from pathogens and also hosting E coli.

Recently, a Bureau of Indian Standards (BIS) report has also revealed that the water samples lifted from the different areas of J&K had failed six quality parameters such as organoleptic and physical tests, chemical test, toxic substances and bacteriological tests in the first stage.

“The presence of bacteria is an indication of recent contamination. If it crosses the set parameters then water is not suitable for the consumption. If a lab confirms bacteria in sample assessment, reasons need to be find,” said Sandeep Dogra, Assistant Professor, department of microbiology, Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH), Jammu.

As per medical journals, there are three groups of bacteria. Each is an indicator of drinking water quality and each has a different level of risk.

When contacted, Sanjeev Chadha, Chief Engineer PHE department, Jammu, said, “Coliform is found in water but it is not hazardous like E coli. We are continuously trying to improve the filtration process and modernize the distribution network to ensure that safe drinking water is supplied.”

Bacteria types

• Coliform is a large collection of different kinds of bacteria. Faecal coliform is found in environment and faeces of animals and humans. It directly doesn’t cause illness but faecal contamination is a serious problem.
• E coli is a sub-group of faecal coliform. It causes illness in humans, especially kids, including diarrhoea, abdominal pain, fever and other water-borne diseases, and is a major cause of infant mortality in India.