Thread: Samples from Doi Suthep waterfall tested for E.coli after contamination claim

Officials from the Pollution Control Department, based in Chiang Mai province, have collected samples from a creek and waterfalls in Doi Suthep-Pui National Park for lab tests, after a report in a recent social media post claimed that the water there may be contaminated with E.coli bacteria.


The department’s director-general, Attapol Charoenchansa, said yesterday (Monday) that the report, which was based on research by a group of university students without any corroborating studies, may cause public confusion and panic.


He said that initial findings in samples from the creek and waterfalls show that the water is clear, free of odour and with an oxygen content of 7.41 milligram/litre, which is within acceptable standards, adding that the water can be used, but not for consumption.


Results of lab tests for E.coli and other bacteria will take approximately a week to come through, said the department’s chief adding, however, that many shops and communities in Doi Suthep discharge wastewater into the waterways without being treated or without grease traps.


Attapol also said that the students’ research work, referred to by the person who posted the report on Facebook, covers only tests of Faecal Coliform Bacteria.


He explained that E.coli screening is used in the setting of the standard for drinking water, which is different from the tests for Total Coliform Bacteria (TCB) or Faecal Coliform Bacteria (FCB).

Samples from Doi Suthep waterfall tested for E.coli after contamination claim | Thai PBS World : The latest Thai news in English, News Headlines, World News and News Broadcasts in both Thai and English. We bring Thailand to the world

.show that the water is clear, free of odour and with an oxygen content of 7.41 milligram/litre, which is within acceptable standards,

All of which are completely irrelevant with regards to E.coli contamination.

Originally Posted by cyrille

No they’re not.

If water is brown and smells of shit it’s obviously more likely to be infected than if it’s clear and odourless, genius.

Fuckin genius.

Well your post is, quite fittingly, complete

Originally Posted by cyrille

Well your post is, quite fittingly, complete

FFS. Stick to grammar.

You can't see, smell or taste E. coli O157:H7 bacteria, but it can be deadly

Understanding E. coli: symptoms, spread, prevention | CBC News

^^It's from human and animal waste.

It's untrue to claim that checking water is clear and odourless is irrelevant.

It doesn't of course completely disprove the presence of E Coli, and nobody is claiming it does.

This isn't the odd hunter taking a shit in the forest. This is at least one village dumping its sewage into the water.

Originally Posted by cyrille

It's untrue to claim that checking water is clear and odourless is irrelevant.

It is when you are investigating an E.coli contamination claim which is what this whole story is about.

Originally Posted by DrWilly

It is when you are investigating an E.coli contamination claim which is what this whole story is about.

You're wrong and you know it.

Nature is nature. I'd be surprised if there was no coliforms in the water.