Date of Award
5-2013
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Departmental Honors
Department
Environment and Society
Abstract
Urban migration is causing a high increase in the population of Suva, Fiji, and the population is growing at a rate that exceeds development planning and infrastructure. Several squatter settlements are established within the city limits where raw sewage, containing infectious pathogens and diseases, is released into the waterways. This study focuses on the area accumulation of the pathogenic bacteria from fecal contamination in the form of E. coli down the Vatuwaga River. E. coli is used as a water quality indicator because, if it is present, other possible pathogens and viruses such as cholera and salmonella could be present. The European Union accepts anything under 200 colonies of E. coli per 100 ml of seawater as safe to eat raw shell fish. Water samples were strategically taken from six sites at areas of surface run off to find the highest source of E. coli. The levels of E. coli colonies found in the Vatuwaga River ranged between 2,500‐50,333 colonies per 100/ml. Though the results showed that the E. coli levels did not accumulate downstream, there was a significant change in E. coli levels after the mangrove forests due to their filtrating root system.
Recommended Citation
Kohler, Hesper D., "Escherichia Coli: Levels Found in Suva Water and the Implications to Fijians: A Case Study of the Vatuwaqa River" (2013). Undergraduate Honors Capstone Projects. 137.
https://digitalcommons.usu.edu/honors/137
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Faculty Mentor
Helga Van Miegrot
Departmental Honors Advisor
H. Lee