This Article Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Services Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Reprints and Permissions Copyright Information Books from ASM Press MicrobeWorld Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Paul, J. H. Articles by Shinn, E. A. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Paul, J. H. Articles by Shinn, E. A. Agricola Articles by Paul, J. H. Articles by Shinn, E. A.

 Previous Article  |  Next Article 

Appl. Environ. Microbiol., 06 1995, 2235-2241, Vol 61, No. 6
Copyright © 1995, American Society for Microbiology

Occurrence of fecal indicator bacteria in surface waters and the subsurface aquifer in Key Largo, Florida

JH Paul, JB Rose, S Jiang, C Kellogg and EA Shinn
Department of Marine Science, University of South Florida, St. Petersburg, USA.

Sewage waste disposal facilities in the Florida Keys include septic tanks and individual package plants in place of municipal collection facilities in most locations. In Key Largo, both facilities discharge into the extremely porous Key Largo limestone. To determine whether there was potential contamination of the subsurface aquifer and nearby coastal surface waters by such waste disposal practices, we examined the presence of microbial indicators commonly found in sewage (fecal coliforms, Clostridium perfringens, and enterococci) and aquatic microbial parameters (viral direct counts, bacterial direct counts, chlorophyll a, and marine vibriophage) in injection well effluent, monitoring wells that followed a transect from onshore to offshore, and surface waters above these wells in two separate locations in Key Largo in August 1993 and March 1994. Effluent and waters from onshore shallow monitoring wells (1.8- to 3.7-m depth) contained two or all three of the fecal indicators in all three samples taken, whereas deeper wells (10.7- to 12.2-m depth) at these same sites contained few or none. The presence of fecal indicators was found in two of five nearshore wells (i.e., those that were < or = 1.8 miles [< or = 2.9 km] from shore), whereas offshore wells (> or = 2.1 to 5.7 miles [< or = 3.4 to 9.2 km] from shore) showed little sign of contamination. Indicators were also found in surface waters in a canal in Key Largo and in offshore surface waters in March but not in August. Collectively, these results suggest that fecal contamination of the shallow onshore aquifer, parts of the nearshore aquifer, and certain surface waters has occurred.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 250 WORDS)

This article has been cited by other articles:

• Winfield, M. D., Groisman, E. A. (2003). Role of Nonhost Environments in the Lifestyles of Salmonella and Escherichia coli. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 69: 3687-3694 [Full Text]  
• Griffin, D. W., Gibson, C. J. III, Lipp, E. K., Riley, K., Paul, J. H. III, Rose, J. B. (1999). Detection of Viral Pathogens by Reverse Transcriptase PCR and of Microbial Indicators by Standard Methods in the Canals of the Florida Keys. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 65: 4118-4125 [Abstract] [Full Text]  
• Edwards, D. D., McFeters, G. A., Venkatesan, M. I. (1998). Distribution of Clostridium perfringens and Fecal Sterols in a Benthic Coastal Marine Environment Influenced by the Sewage Outfall from McMurdo Station, Antarctica. Appl. Environ. Microbiol. 64: 2596-2600 [Abstract] [Full Text]