Introduction

How many of you like to go swimming in Lake Shafer? How many of you live in the watershed area?

What is a watershed?
It is the area drained by a water system.
Hoagland Ditch Watershed
Wolcott
#

Lake Shafer

Monticello
# #

Reynolds
N

Honey Creek Watershed

10

10

20 Kilometers

E. coli & Lake Shafer

Lake Shafer is known to contain high levels of E. coli periodically during the year.

Sources of water and E. coli draining into Lake Shafer comes from the watershed area. 81% of ditches, rivers, and lakes do not support full body contact recreation in Indiana (IDEM)

What is Escherichia Coli?

E. coli was discovered by Dr. Theodor Escherich, who discovered this bacterium in 1885. It belongs to the Family Enterobacteriaceae.

From Greek word enterikos (intestines)

These organisms happily inhabit the intestinal tract of most warm blooded animals.
0.001 mm 10 m

E. coli Factoids
E. coli colonizes the bowel of the average human fetus within 40 hours of birth. In newborn infants, most of the bacteria present are E. coli.

There are approximately 107 (10,000,000) E. coli bacteria per 1 gram of an adult humans intestine. Only 0.1% of the total bacteria in the adult human intestine are E. coli.

Escherichia coli (E. coli)

Can be used to indicate the possible presence of bacteria that may be harmful to human health.

Other indicators of water quality test for things like sediment and fertilizers.
0.001 mm

BASIC RULE: If the water looks dirty, it probably is!!!

What Good Are E. coli?

1) Protects the intestinal tract from bacterial infections 2) Aids in digestion

3) Produces our main source of vitamins B12 and K

4) Lives symbiotically with us (we help them to live, and they help us to live)

Hmmmmm
Who doesnt want ANY bacteria or E. coli in them?

Animals born and raised germ free are really wimpy . . .

They have thin intestinal walls, puny heart output, and require lots of vitamin supplements just to stay alive.

Bad E. coli
While most E. coli are good for you, there are a few strains of E. coli that are harmful to humans.

~ 5 billion bacteria in your intestines alone

It is possible to get an individual strain of E. coli that is harmful to you.

E. coli O157:H7
Most notorious strain of bad E. coli
0.001 mm

Produces a powerful toxin and can cause severe illness Most dangerous for little kids, the elderly, and the sick

Damages the intestines, causes bloody diarrhea, and other complications

0.001 mm

Local, National, & International Concern

According to USDA, E. coli O157:H7 causes ~ 73,000 cases of infection and 61 deaths in the USA each year.
Many countries around the world are constantly suffering from E. coli contamination. Common cause of diarrhea in tourists

Case Study: New York 1999

Attendees of a county fair became ill from E. coli poisoning Source: Runoff from a barn that housed cattle contaminated the water supply at the fair At least 155 people became ill

Case Study: Georgia 1998

A toddlers swimming pool was contaminated with E. coli Several children were hospitalized

Chlorine from pools does kill bacteria, but it takes time

Main Sources of E. coli

Undercooked meat

Unpasteurized milk, apple juice, and orange juice

Swimming in or drinking water contaminated with sewage

Main Sources of E. coli

Bacteria in the diarrhea of infected persons can be passed on if their hands are not washed well

Unwashed vegetables and fruits

Most sources CAN be avoided!!!

What does this have to do with us?

Lake Shafer contains high amounts of E. coli during different times of the year. Chances of getting sick from E. coli are very small But we want to make them even smaller! Currently, research is being done to try and solve the problem.

E. coli in Lake Shafer

E. coli concentrations up to 20,000 colony-forming units (cfu) per 100mL
Indiana water-quality standard for full-body contact is 235 cfu/100mL

Less money is made at Indiana Beach People blame one another for the problem More information needed to find cheap solutions that will work

The Scientific Method

Theory:
Any idea, based on scientific fact, to explain something.

Hypothesis:
An idea to account for certain facts, and it may be tested to see whether or not it is correct

Wheres It All Coming From?

1) Know what possible sources are: Farm Animals Fertilizers

Sewage Treatment Plants

Residential Areas (septic tanks) 2) Some of these sources get into the water system

The Scientific Method

Method:
A procedure or way of doing something

Results:
Interpretation of the data produced by the method used to test the hypothesis

Conclusion:
Summarizes briefly the hypothesis and the results to produce an ending to your experiment

Definitions
Upstream: The direction from which the stream flows Downstream: The direction to which the stream flows Upstream
Flow

Downstream

Sampling Strategy (Methods)

flow

Cattle in the Ditch

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Residential Areas:
Bays of Lake Shafer

Wastewater Treatment Plant

Collecting & Analyzing Data

Place water sample on medium in petri dish. Wait 24 48 hours to allow E. coli to grow

Each dot represents an entire colony of E. coli, not an individual E. coli cell Count colonies of E. coli in the petri dish

Results & Conclusions

Upstream Site Day E. coli Count 0 200 5 191 10 36 15 31 20 22 25 99 30 70 35 79

E. coli count units = cfu/100ml

E. coli Count at Upstream Site
250
E. coli Count (cfu/100 ml)

200 150 100 50 0 0 10 20 Time (Days)

Upstream Site

30

Results & Conclusions

Downstream Day E. coli Count 0 23000 5 33000 10 3700 15 13000 20 4500 25 6400 30 4700 35 2400

E. coli count units = cfu/100ml

E. coli Count at Downstream Site 35000 30000
E. coli Count (cfu/100 ml)

25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 0

Downstream Site

10

20

30

Time (Days)

Results & Conclusions

E. coli Count at Upstream & Downstream Sites
E. coli Count (cfu/100 ml)

35000 30000 25000 20000 15000 10000 5000 0 0 5 10 15 20 Time (Days) 25 30 35

Upstream Site

Downstream Site