Bacterial Density Changes Across Sludge Disposal Facility
Publication: Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 120, Issue 1
Abstract
Fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus concentrations were measured at five locations across the Ruston land farm for periods ranging from 69 to 92 consecutive days. The resulting data structure was found to be log‐normal for both types of organisms. Depending on the location, statistically significant autocorrelation was either not present, present with a lag period of one day or, in some cases, one and two days. Even though the ratio in the sludge storage lagoon measured 5.08 and the fecal coliform concentration in the effluent from the land farm increased by a factor of 6.5 over that of the background, the ratio across the site increased only marginally, from 1.77 to 2.23, suggesting that the ratio is not a reliable indicator of the source of bacterial contamination in natural systems, even when samples are collected close to the source of contamination.
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Information & Authors
Information
Published In
Journal of Environmental Engineering
Volume 120 • Issue 1 • January 1994
Pages: 138 - 153
Copyright
Copyright © 1994 American Society of Civil Engineers.
History
Received: May 26, 1992
Published online: Jan 1, 1994
Published in print: Jan 1994
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