Professional well testing

[AndyC]

I was given this advice on testing well water fro possibly dangerous coliform bacteria. Just wondered if anyone else heard of or do this method of testing.

<<The first time you do a Coliform test yourself and find Coliform remove the petri dish lid or the Presence/Absence test container cap and take a whiff. Then the next time you are collecting well water samples, smell the water for the same odor and see if over a few years you can learn how to use an educated guess as to the different odors caused by the different types of bacteria found in well water. Not all Coliform contaminated waters will have an odor. More hands on field experience might help.>>

I just don't see putting your nose in a petri dish with a living coliform culture is a proper. And then how would you compare it to well water samples?

Thanks for your input.

Andy Christensen, CWS-II

[AndyC]

Sorry, quote didn't come thru.

--"The first time you do a Coliform test yourself and find Coliform remove the petri dish lid or the Presence/Absence test container cap and take a whiff. Then the next time you are collecting well water samples, smell the water for the same odor and see if over a few years you can learn how to use an educated guess as to the different odors caused by the different types of bacteria found in well water. Not all Coliform contaminated waters will have an odor. More hands on field experience might help.'--

[Lonster]

The smell method might be a good way to accurately detect a contaminated water source, but it in no way should rule out possible contamination. It would need to be active and pretty bad to smell, no way near drinkable levels. I work in a hospital laboratory and a trained nose can detect certain types of bacteria grown on an agar plate, but not usually just as a collected specimen. E. coli (one of the colioform bacteria) has a definite unique smell as well as others...

PS- I sent you a PM about a Kinetico 50 problem...

[AndyC]

Thanks Lonster,

I was looking for that kind of knowledge. I just woldn't feel comfortable sniffing petri dishes like that. I would still leave that up to labs to take away the guess work.

I left a voice mail for you.,
Andy