Source : Bacteria are tiny organisms occurring naturally in water. Not all types of bacteria are harmful. Many organisms found in water are of no health concern since they do not cause disease. Biological contamination may be separated into two groups:

(1) pathogenic (disease causing) and (2) non-pathogenic (not disease causing). Pathogenic bacteria cause illnesses such as typhoid fever, dysentery, gastroenteritis, infectious hepatitis, and cholera. All water supplies should be tested for biological content prior to use and consumption. E.Coli (Escherichia Coli) is the coli form bacterial organism which is looked for when testing the water. This organism is found in the intestines and fecal matter of humans and animals. If E.Coli is found in a water supply along with high nitrate and chloride levels, it usually indicates that waste has contaminated the supply from a septic system or sewage dumping, and has entered by way of runoff, a fractured well casing, or broken lines. If coli form bacteria is present, it is an indication that disease causing bacteria may also be present. Four or fewer colonies / 100 ml of coli forms, in the absence of high nitrates and chlorides, implies that surface water is entering the water system. If pathogenic bacteria is suspected, a sample of water should be submitted to the Board of Health or US EPA for bacteriological testing and recommendations. The most common non-pathogenic bacteria found in water, is iron bacteria. Iron bacteria can be readily identified by the red, feathery floc which forms overnight at the bottom of a sample bottle containing iron and iron bacteria.

Treatment : Bacteria can be treated by micro filtration, ultra filtration, or chemical oxidation and disinfection. sterilization will also kill bacteria; but turbidity, color, and organic impurities interfere with the transmission of ultraviolet energy and may decrease the disinfection efficiency below levels to insure destruction. Ultraviolet treatment also does not provide residual bactericidal action, therefore periodic flushing and disinfection must be done. Ultraviolet sterilization is usually followed by 0.2 micron filtration when dealing with high purity water systems. The most common and undisputed method of bacteria destruction is chemical oxidation and disinfection. injection into a water supply is one form of and disinfection. A residual of 0.4 mg/l must be established and a retention time of four minutes is required. injection is the most widely recognized method of chemical oxidation and disinfection. Chlorine must be fed at 3 to 5 ppm to treat for bacteria and a residual of 0.4 ppm of free chlorine must be maintained for 30 minutes in order to meet US EPA standards. will remove 99+ % of the bacteria in a drinking water system.