Abstract & Overview
The presence of many types of microorganisms, including potential pathogens has been reported as an integral part of coastal management programs in many countries. Therefore the purpose of this study was to examine the seawater collected from a selected bathing site in the West coast of Sri Lanka, for pollution indicating bacterial parameters. Sand samples were subjected to similar evaluation. Two sites were selected from this location to collect samples. The following microbial parameters were analyzed in the collected samples: enterococci, total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, E. coli, Pseudomonas sp. and Staphylococcus sp. In addition, physical parameters such as temperature, pH and conductivity were also measured in collected samples. Enterococci counts generally varied from 09 - <1600 (MPN/100 ml). The statistical analysis revealed that counts of enterococci, coliforms, thermotolerent coliforms and E. coli were not significantly different at two sites in both seawater and sand samples. The average enterococci and total coliform counts in beach sand were higher than that of seawater. However, E. coli showed a higher average count as 228 (MPN/100ml) in seawater than 72 (MPN/100 ml) in beach sand. Bacteria belonging to species of Vibrio, Aeromonas, Pseudomonas, Bacillus, Staphylococcus and Listeria were identified from both seawater and sand. The sampled seawater was characterized by a salinity of 20-33 (ppt) and varying pH of 6.7 – 8.20. Based on the obtained results for enterococci, the selected location was provisionally classified in the D category as per WHO guidelines. However microbiological quality of the seawater as per the water quality guidelines depends upon which indicator microbe is chosen.