|
sp., in contrast, were not inhibitory, even at concentrations above 1000 CFU/mL. Standridge and Sonzogni (1988) evaluated two modifications of the MF technique for total coliforms in drinking water containing high background counts. In both cases, roughly 8% of the plates originally classified as coliform negative but overgrown -- i.e., confluent growth or more than 100 background CFU/100 mL -- yielded coliforms. It should be noted that most water supplies maintaining a total chlorine residual of 0.2 mg/L have an HPC below 500 CFU/mL. Historically, some jurisdictions used background colony counts on total coliform membrane filters as a convenient and inexpensive surrogate for HPC. Background colony counts should no longer be used as a surrogate for HPC testing, but they can be used for determining if heterotrophic bacteria are present at levels that may interfere with coliform recovery. Further information on HPC and background colony counts, along with their significance in drinking water, can be found in
|