Abstract
The presence and survival of coliforms, fecal coliforms, and fecal streptococci were studied in sewage treatment plants, heavily polluted rivers, a lake, and other drinking water sources. In all cases the fecal streptococci were generally more resistant to the natural water environment and to purification processes than the other indicator organisms and, at points distant from the original source of pollution were often the only indicators of the fecal nature of the pollution. In two of the systems studied the survival of the fecal streptococci paralleled the survival of enteric viruses better than the coliforms. The fecal streptococci may thus in certain cases provide a better estimate of the probable virus content in lightly contaminated water than the other two indicators.
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Cohen, J., Shuval, H.I. Coliforms, fecal coliforms, and fecal streptococci as indicators of water pollution. Water Air Soil Pollut 2, 85–95 (1973). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572392
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF00572392