Hixon 1 Concentrations and identities of fecal coliform bacteria from ...

Hixon 4
83% of the intestinal enterococci were resistant to at least one antimicrobial agent (Servais et al.
2009). In fact, most E. coli are resistant to multiple antimicrobial agents due to the pumps in their
outer membrane (Musgrove et al. 2006).
Fecal coliform bacteria are found in the Saint Johns River and its surrounding tributaries
because of failing septic tanks, wastewater treatment plants, broken sewer lines, and animal
waste (St. Johns River Keeper 2011). The Saint Johns River is a diverse ecosystem with slowly
moving water that historically has had a lot of pollution problems; however, since the mid 1970’s
and the creation of the clean water act of 1972, community efforts and initiatives addressing the
bacterial sources have improved the overall quality of the river (Hollingsworth 2007). The major
sources of pollutants, such as fecal coliform bacteria, are discharges from wastewater treatment
plants and water runoff caused by rain (SJRWMD 2011). The root of the problem comes from
nutrients and chemical contaminants that enter the river as either point-source or non-point
source discharges. Point source discharges include domestic and industrial wastewater treatment
plants, and usually enter the river through a man-made pipe or channel. The Saint Johns River is
also affected by non-point source discharges which include septic tank leaching, ground water
intrusion, runoff from roads and highways, pasture lands and forestry, and storm water collection
systems which have no fixed entry point, making it difficult to find the main source of the
pollution (Maher 2007). Algal blooms, which have detrimental effects on aquatic ecosystems,
have the ability to form in the Saint Johns River due to the rivers warm water temperature and
high level of excess nutrients, such as phosphorus and nitrogen, from both point source and nonpoint
source discharges (Cadenhead 2007).
The city of Jacksonville Florida (COJ) monitors over one-hundred tributaries belonging
to the Saint Johns River on a quarterly basis. The tributaries are measured for dissolved oxygen