Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah

Ala H. Amiri; Ruwaya R. Alkendi; Yasser T. Ahmed

doi:doi:10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah

Ala H. Amiri, Ruwaya R. Alkendi, Yasser T. Ahmed

Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 2, Issue 5)

Published: 30 October 2013

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Abstract

Maintaining the microbiological quality of water is an important means of preventing water-bornediseases. The aim of the present study was to use the Membrane Filter (MF) method to examine the level of coliforms (Escherichia coli)and total bacteria in water storage tanks fitted in different homes in Sharjah. The MF method can determine the presence or absence of bacteria within only 24 hours. A volume of 100ml of water sample is filtered through bacterial retaining membrane; the membrane is then transferred to a selective media and incubated for 24h at 37ᵒC to enable the growth of the bacteria. On the growing plates, Total Bacterial Count (TBC) shows as yellow colonies, Total coliforms (TC)shows as dark red colonies and E. colishows as dark blue colonies. Eleven houses were sampled for along a period of six weeks. Samples were collected from two storage tank levels (ground level and roof top level) located in each house. The results showed that, although none of the samples contained E. coli, they did contain other coliforms. The absence of E.coli indicate no fecal contamination by animal and/or human, on the other hand, other Coliform bacteria were present in water which are usually introduced by the environment such as Klebsiella, Enterobacter spp., and Serratia. These isolates pose a health risk if they reach the human system. More than half of the samples collected (72.7%) showed a high TBC (>10CFU/100ml), which suggests further investigation is needed to examine the sources of contamination to the storage tanks. The bacterial contaminants found in the storage tanks usually come from the environment which may indicate the presence of other contaminants like chemical contaminants that are also found in the environment and entered via the same route to the storage tanks. The results of this study suggest the adoption of a cleaning system for the water tank at least twice a year to prevent accumulation of contaminants. In addition, the results suggest that chemical contaminants might be present in the water, therefore, chemical analysis is recommended.

Published in	Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 2, Issue 5)
DOI	10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20
Page(s)	125-132
Creative Commons	This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.
Copyright	Copyright © The Author(s), 2013. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Fecal Coliform, Total Coliform, E. Coli, Membrane Filter Technique, Sharjah, Total Bacterial Count

References

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[2]	Blacksmith Institute. (2012).Contamination surface water. New York, NY 10035 USA
[3]	Barrell, Hunter, G Nichols.(2000). Microbiologicalstandards for water and their relationship to health risk.
[4]	Bradley Scott.(2009). Total Coliform Bacteria.
[5]	Coliform Bacteria in Drinking Water Supplies. (2011). New York State Department of Health, Retrieved 18 January 2012, Retrieved from http://www.health.ny.gov/
[6]	Canada, Public Health Agency. (2011). Methodological Options of Source Attribution, Retrieved from http://www.phac-aspc.gc.ca
[7]	Connecticut Department of Public Health.(2010).Presence of Total Coliform or FecalColiform/ E. coli Bacteria in the Water Supply.
[8]	Dubai Electricity and Water Authority. (2012).Electricity and Water.Dubai Electricity and Water Authority,UAE.
[9]	Guidelines for Water Reuse.(2004).U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. Washington EPA/625/R-04/108: Retrieved fromwww.epa.gov/
[10]	Geneva.( 2008).Guidelines for drinking-water quality, third edition ,volume 1 recommendation.
[11]	Kosek M, Bern C, Guerrant R. (2000). The global burden of diarrhoeal disease Bull. World Health Organ. 2003;81(3):197–204.
[12]	Moushumi Das chaudhury.(2005).UAE water consumption one of the highest in the world..Khaleej Times
[13]	New Hampshire department of environmental service.(2010).Interpreting the Presence of Coliform Bacteria in Drinking Water.WDDWGB41.
[14]	Oram B.(2012).Bacteria, Protozoans, Viruses and Nuisance Bacteria. Retrieved from Water Research Center website: http://www.water-research.net
[15]	Prüss-Üstün A, Bos R, Gore F, Bartram J.(2008). Safer Water, Better Health, Costs,benefitsandsustainability of interventions toprotect and promote health. Geneva, World drinking-water.
[16]	Pruss A, Kay D, Fewtrell L, Bartram J.(2002). Estimating the burden of disease from water, sanitation, and hygiene at a global level. Environ. Health Perspect, 110(5):537–542.
[17]	Sharjah Electricity and Water Authority:SEWA.(2008),Water Services.http://www.sewa.gov.ae/english/services/water.asp
[18]	The Water Quality Regulations. (2009). The Regulation and Supervision Bureau for the Water (Ed.). Abu Dhabi, U.A.E.
[19]	United Nations.(2005). Millennium Development Project Report
[20]	WHO (2010).Optimizing regulatory frameworks for safe and clean drinking water, World Health Organization.
[21]	Wait, I. (2008). Changing Perceptions: Water Quality and Demand In The United Arab Emirates. Paper presented at the 13th IWRA World Water Congress.

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APA Style

Ala H. Amiri, Ruwaya R. Alkendi, Yasser T. Ahmed. (2013). Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 2(5), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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ACS Style

Ala H. Amiri; Ruwaya R. Alkendi; Yasser T. Ahmed. Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2013, 2(5), 125-132. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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AMA Style

Ala H. Amiri, Ruwaya R. Alkendi, Yasser T. Ahmed. Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2013;2(5):125-132. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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@article{10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20,
  author = {Ala H. Amiri and Ruwaya R. Alkendi and Yasser T. Ahmed},
  title = {Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah},
  journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {125-132},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20130205.20},
  abstract = {Maintaining the microbiological quality of water is an important means of preventing water-bornediseases. The aim of the present study was to use the Membrane Filter (MF) method to examine the level of coliforms (Escherichia coli)and total bacteria in water storage tanks fitted in different homes in Sharjah. The MF method can determine the presence or absence of bacteria within only 24 hours. A volume of 100ml of water sample is filtered through bacterial retaining membrane; the membrane is then transferred to a selective media and incubated for 24h at 37ᵒC to enable the growth of the bacteria.  On the growing plates, Total Bacterial Count (TBC) shows as yellow colonies, Total coliforms (TC)shows as dark red colonies and E. colishows as dark blue colonies. Eleven houses were sampled for along a period of six weeks.  Samples were collected from two storage tank levels (ground level and roof top level) located in each house. The results showed that, although none of the samples contained E. coli, they did contain other coliforms. The absence of E.coli indicate no fecal contamination by animal and/or human, on the other hand, other Coliform bacteria were present in water which are usually introduced by the environment such as Klebsiella, Enterobacter spp., and Serratia.  These isolates pose a health risk if they reach the human system.  More than half of the samples collected (72.7%) showed a high TBC (>10CFU/100ml), which suggests further investigation is needed to examine the sources of contamination to the storage tanks.  The bacterial contaminants found in the storage tanks usually come from the environment which may indicate the presence of other contaminants like chemical contaminants that are also found in the environment and entered via the same route to the storage tanks. The results of this study suggest the adoption of a cleaning system for the water tank at least twice a year to prevent accumulation of contaminants.  In addition, the results suggest that chemical contaminants might be present in the water, therefore, chemical analysis is recommended.},
 year = {2013}
}

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TY - JOUR
T1 - Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah
AU - Ala H. Amiri
AU - Ruwaya R. Alkendi
AU - Yasser T. Ahmed
Y1 - 2013/10/30
PY - 2013
N1 - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20
DO - 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20
T2 - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JF - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
JO - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
SP - 125
EP - 132
PB - Science Publishing Group
SN - 2328-7993
UR - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20
AB - Maintaining the microbiological quality of water is an important means of preventing water-bornediseases. The aim of the present study was to use the Membrane Filter (MF) method to examine the level of coliforms (Escherichia coli)and total bacteria in water storage tanks fitted in different homes in Sharjah. The MF method can determine the presence or absence of bacteria within only 24 hours. A volume of 100ml of water sample is filtered through bacterial retaining membrane; the membrane is then transferred to a selective media and incubated for 24h at 37ᵒC to enable the growth of the bacteria. On the growing plates, Total Bacterial Count (TBC) shows as yellow colonies, Total coliforms (TC)shows as dark red colonies and E. colishows as dark blue colonies. Eleven houses were sampled for along a period of six weeks. Samples were collected from two storage tank levels (ground level and roof top level) located in each house. The results showed that, although none of the samples contained E. coli, they did contain other coliforms. The absence of E.coli indicate no fecal contamination by animal and/or human, on the other hand, other Coliform bacteria were present in water which are usually introduced by the environment such as Klebsiella, Enterobacter spp., and Serratia. These isolates pose a health risk if they reach the human system. More than half of the samples collected (72.7%) showed a high TBC (>10CFU/100ml), which suggests further investigation is needed to examine the sources of contamination to the storage tanks. The bacterial contaminants found in the storage tanks usually come from the environment which may indicate the presence of other contaminants like chemical contaminants that are also found in the environment and entered via the same route to the storage tanks. The results of this study suggest the adoption of a cleaning system for the water tank at least twice a year to prevent accumulation of contaminants. In addition, the results suggest that chemical contaminants might be present in the water, therefore, chemical analysis is recommended.
VL - 2
IS - 5
ER -

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Author Information

Ala H. Amiri

Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University
Ruwaya R. Alkendi

Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University
Yasser T. Ahmed

Faculty of Science, Department of Biology, United Arab Emirates University

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APA Style

Ala H. Amiri, Ruwaya R. Alkendi, Yasser T. Ahmed. (2013). Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 2(5), 125-132. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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ACS Style

Ala H. Amiri; Ruwaya R. Alkendi; Yasser T. Ahmed. Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2013, 2(5), 125-132. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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AMA Style

Ala H. Amiri, Ruwaya R. Alkendi, Yasser T. Ahmed. Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2013;2(5):125-132. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20

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@article{10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20,
  author = {Ala H. Amiri and Ruwaya R. Alkendi and Yasser T. Ahmed},
  title = {Quantification of Bacteria in Domestic Water Storage Tanks in Sharjah},
  journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
  volume = {2},
  number = {5},
  pages = {125-132},
  doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20},
  url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20130205.20},
  eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20130205.20},
  abstract = {Maintaining the microbiological quality of water is an important means of preventing water-bornediseases. The aim of the present study was to use the Membrane Filter (MF) method to examine the level of coliforms (Escherichia coli)and total bacteria in water storage tanks fitted in different homes in Sharjah. The MF method can determine the presence or absence of bacteria within only 24 hours. A volume of 100ml of water sample is filtered through bacterial retaining membrane; the membrane is then transferred to a selective media and incubated for 24h at 37ᵒC to enable the growth of the bacteria.  On the growing plates, Total Bacterial Count (TBC) shows as yellow colonies, Total coliforms (TC)shows as dark red colonies and E. colishows as dark blue colonies. Eleven houses were sampled for along a period of six weeks.  Samples were collected from two storage tank levels (ground level and roof top level) located in each house. The results showed that, although none of the samples contained E. coli, they did contain other coliforms. The absence of E.coli indicate no fecal contamination by animal and/or human, on the other hand, other Coliform bacteria were present in water which are usually introduced by the environment such as Klebsiella, Enterobacter spp., and Serratia.  These isolates pose a health risk if they reach the human system.  More than half of the samples collected (72.7%) showed a high TBC (>10CFU/100ml), which suggests further investigation is needed to examine the sources of contamination to the storage tanks.  The bacterial contaminants found in the storage tanks usually come from the environment which may indicate the presence of other contaminants like chemical contaminants that are also found in the environment and entered via the same route to the storage tanks. The results of this study suggest the adoption of a cleaning system for the water tank at least twice a year to prevent accumulation of contaminants.  In addition, the results suggest that chemical contaminants might be present in the water, therefore, chemical analysis is recommended.},
 year = {2013}
}

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