Bacteriological Monitoring of Inlet Water Source at Mansoura Water Treatment

Abstract

Quality of drinking water is a global issue and has a major impact on human health. Advances in water treatment have significantly improved the quality and safety of drinking water but assurance of its quality remained a huge concern. The continuous monitoring of inlet water source for Mansoura Water Treatment Plant was our major concern This was achieved by total coliform testing and isolation and identification of bacteria. Bacteriological analyses involved total coliforms, faecal coliforms and pathogenic bacteria. The results showed that total coliforms varied according to the season, peaked in the summer followed by autumn and sping and the lowest number was isolated in the winter. The following bacteria were isolated in pure colonies Esherichia coli, Klebsiella, Pseudomonas, Sptreptococcus, Enterobacter, Acinetobacter, and comamonas. No Salmonella and or Shigella were isolated from the inlet water source.  In conclusion our tests suggested that the River Nile water at the inlet of Mansoura Water Treatment Plant does contain normal flora and no pathogenic bacteria, however, the treatment process kept operating at the highest standard possible.