Boil Water Notice – Darlington Point (NSW) 2017 March 16

E.coli Bacteria Contamination

Regular monitoring for E.coli bacteria in the Darlington Point Town Water Supply is conducted by the Murumbidgee Town Council. E.coli is itself generally not harmful. The presence of these bacteria indicates that the water may be contaminated with organisms that may cause disease.

Recent monitoring has shown E.coli to be present in the Darlington Point town water supply. As a precaution your are advised that water for consumption should be bought to a rolling boil. Water should then be allowed to cool and stored in a clean container with a lid and refrigerated…

“Coliforms are Gram-negative, non-spore-forming, rod-shaped bacteria that are capable of aerobic and facultative anaerobic growth in the presence of bile salts or other surface active agents with similar growth-inhibiting properties. They are found in large numbers in the faeces of humans and other warm-blooded animals, but many species also occur in the environment.

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