Bacterial survey of well water--Tehran, Iran

One hundred twenty-one wells throughout the city of Tehran were monitored during the four seasons of the year for the presence of bacterial indicators of fecal pollution. None of the sites monitored was connected to Tehran's main water distribution system but represented drinking water sources for small communities, individual factories, hospitals, etc. Only 17 samples showed no indication of fecal bacterial contamination throughout the study. The remaining sites were positive for at least one of the following at some season of the year: Escherichia coli, Shigella sp., Citrobacter sp., Klebsiella-Enterobacter group, Clostridium perfringens, or Streptococcus faecalis.