Fecal Bacteria as Bioindicators of the Quality of Freshwater Ecosystems

Monitoring of bacteria in surface and underground waters is used to detect the presence of pathogenic organisms. As the majority of microbial pathogens present in natural waters are of fecal origin, detection of fecal contamination of water is the main goal of water testing. The organisms most often used for microbiological monitoring are fecal indicators: bacteria that indicate the presence of fecal contamination of human or animal origin. Indicator bacteria can survive in the environment for a long time and thus provide a reliable indication of fecal contamination long after they have been expelled from the digestive tract. This paper aims to assess the current state of water quality of the Buna River and to examine the influence of municipal wastewater on selected quality parameters. As microbiological indicators of water quality, within the scope of this research, the numbers of total coliform bacteria in 100 ml of water, Escherichia coli in 100 ml of water and fecal streptococci in 100 ml of water were analyzed. The results show that the concentration of total coliform bacteria is quite high, and in certain localities above the permitted limit.