2007 April – Pine Hills (New South Wales) E.coli

Mr Murphy confirmed that a “boil water alert” was issued on Monday 2 April for the Pine Hill area only. Notification was issued personally and immediately to occupants of thirty-five residences in the Pine Hill Area, who may have been affected by elevated readings of E-Coli bacteria. “Water quality tests confirmed that readings had achieved compliance with national drinking water guidelines by Thursday 5 April. Testing continued to ensure compliance and precautions were lifted on Friday 13 April with Council staff delivered notice to affected residents on that day. No other part of the town’s water supply was affected.”

Thermotolerant coliforms are a sub-group of coliforms that are able to grow at 44.5 ± 0.2°C. E. coli is the most common thermotolerant coliform present in faeces and is regarded as the most specific indicator of recent faecal contamination because generally it is not capable of growth in the environment. In contrast, some other thermotolerant coliforms (including strains of Klebsiella, Citrobacter and Enterobacter) are able to grow in the environment and their presence is not necessarily related to faecal contamination. While tests for thermotolerant coliforms can be simpler than for E. coli, E. coli is considered a superior indicator for detecting faecal contamination…” ADWG