MICRO-BIOLOGICAL WATER TESTING

This service is only available whilst we are in attendance to carry out either a routine maintenance visit or additional engineering services with Kent and London. All samples are collected by our qualified engineers for same day processing via an external accredited UKAS approved laboratory.

Certification will be emailed to you following the normal sample processing periods, for TVC tests this is usually within 3-4 days, for the more complex Suite 2 & Legionella testing, reporting may take up to 15 days due to the extended incubation period required for Legionella growth & species verification if a positive sample is detected.

Test Parameters

TVC stands for Total Viable Count, which is a count of the population of heterotrophic bacteria in any given test. Heterotrophic bacteria are classified as bacteria that require organic material to breed and survive. We have tests taken for 1 day at 37 degrees Celsius and 3 days at 22 degrees Celsius, which provides a broad and accurate range for the growth of bacteria in a “leisure” environment. Any detected micro-organisms will have originated from soil/vegetation or naturally exist in a “wet” environment. The test does not discriminate between types of bacteria and is used to measure the general bacteriological health of the water.

Suite2 is a test that we put together some time ago to measure more common harmful bacteria levels in the water. We test for Total Coliforms, E. coli, and Pseudomonas Aeruginosa. Total Coliforms are an indicator of general coliform pollution, usually associated with human gut infections and disorders (upset stomach, sickness, diarrhoea etc. E. coli is a member of the coliform group, but its presence in a water sample may indicate the presence of other intestinal pathogens. The Pseudomonas are widely distributed throughout the environment and may be present in or on bathers. They are capable of growing in water and will readily colonise filters. Most species are non-pathogenic to healthy people, but Pseudomonas Aeruginosa can cause skin and ear infections.

Legionella is common in many environments, with at least 50 species and 70 serogroups identified. The side-chains of the cell wall carry the bases responsible for the somatic antigen specificity of these organisms. The chemical composition of these side chains both with respect to components as well as arrangement of the different sugars determines the nature of the somatic or O antigen determinants, which are essential means of serologically classifying many Gram-negative bacteria. Legionella acquired its name after a July 1976 outbreak among people attending a convention of the American Legion in Philadelphia. The mystery disease sickened 221 persons, causing 34 deaths. In that bicentennial year, a pandemic among U.S. war veterans was widely publicized and produced a national panic. On January 18, 1977 the causative agent was identified as a previously unknown bacterium, subsequently named Legionella.