Urban runoff samples collected from a parking lot in Blacksburg, Virginia were analyzed by several techniques for fecal coliform recovery. The samples were also analyzed for heavy metal concentrations.
Statistical analyses of data by the paired-t test showed that the standard membrane filter technique (MF) yielded significantly lower recoveries (0. 05 level) than the standard MPN procedure. A modified membrane filter technique employing a two-layer agar and a two hour 35°C preincubation period (M-2hr) was found to yield recoveries consistently greater (0.01 level) than the standard MF technique. Increasing the preincubation period to five hours in this modified method (M-5hr) resulted in recoveries that were even greater (0.005 level). The recoveries of the M-5hr method were found to closely approximate the MPN recoveries in most cases.
It was concluded that a substantial percentage of the fecal coliform population found in urban runoff may be injured by a host of environmental factors, though no correlations could be made with metal concentrations or elapsed time between rainfalls. The M-5hr method was concluded to be quite useful in the recovery of these stressed organisms. though growth of non-fecal-coliforms was increased and made enumeration of the fecal coliforms more difficult. / Master of Science
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:VTETD/oai:vtechworks.lib.vt.edu:10919/64115 |
| Date | January 1977 |
| Creators | Brown, Edward Ryland |
| Contributors | Environmental Sciences and Engineering |
| Publisher | Virginia Polytechnic Institute and State University |
| Source Sets | Virginia Tech Theses and Dissertation |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis, Text |
| Format | vii, 94 leaves, application/pdf, application/pdf |
| Rights | In Copyright, http://rightsstatements.org/vocab/InC/1.0/ |
| Relation | OCLC# 39309881 |
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