Survival in Groundwater and Ft—ir Characterization of Some Pathogenic and Indicator Bacteria

Groundwater represents a capital resource of drinking water in many countries, and there is a growing public concern in regard to contamination of groundwater aquifers by health relevant bacteria. In microcosmos filled either with groundwater alone, or containing also sand from a deep groundwater aquifer, the survival of different health relevant bacteria was tested at 10°C ± 1°C. While Biacillus megaterium and Staphylococcus aureus died off within 30 days, all other bacteria survived up to 100 days or even longer. If a natural population of groundwater bacteria was present in the experimental system, however, an enhanced die off of introduced species or strains was observed. The FT-IR spectroscopic traits of some of the bacteria concerned varied with cell age and culture conditions, and thus their use in a routine identification of bacterial contaminants to groundwater remains questionable.