Escherichia coli bacteria
Overview
The presence of Escherichia coli bacteria in surface water indicates fecal contamination by warm-blooded mammals and possibly indicates the presence of other organisms that could cause disease.
Water-quality standards and criteria are developed by the States, approved by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA), and then promulgated (passed into law) as standards by each State. Graphs on this website allow comparison of measured and computed data to these standards and criteria by plotting them as straight lines. When evaluating data to decide whether water quality is suitable for the intended use, viewers are cautioned to consider the uncertainty associated with these computed data.
Water-quality Standards and Criteria
Kansas maximum for primary contact (summer): 262 col/100mL
Geometric mean of 262 colonies per 100 milliliters for five samples collected at least 24 hours apart in a 30 day period. Primary contact recreation is defined as recreation where the body is immersed in surface water to the extent that some inadvertent ingestion of water is probable such as boating or swimming.
Source: Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (view online)
Kansas maximum for secondary contact (wading): 2358 col/100mL
2,358 colonies per 100 milliliters. Secondary contact recreation is defined as recreation where ingestion of the surface water is not probable such as wading, fishing, or hunting.
Source: Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (view online)
Kansas primary contact maximum (winter): 2358 col/100mL
2,358 colonies per 100 milliliters. Primary contact recreation is defined as recreation where the body is immersed in surface water to the extent that some inadvertent ingestion of water is probable such as boating or swimming.
Source: Kansas Department of Health and the Environment (view online)
Stations That Measure or Compute Continuous E. coli
Click a station to view measurements of E. coli.