Determination of bacteriological contamination in surface water bodies: the highlands South of Jalisco, Mexico

Abstract

Abstract The present work consisted of evaluating the quality of surface waters in The Highlands-South región in the state of Jalisco, Mexico where, through geographic information and field trips, the main hydrological features of this area were identified, establishing 35 specific sampling points distributed in the 12 municipalities that make up this region. For this, water samples were taken in the dry seasons of the years of 2020, 2021 and 2022, mainly from rivers and dams in the study área. Quantitatively determining microbiological parameters where greater attention was paid to total coliform organisms and fecal coliform organisms, since the presence of these microorganisms in the water are indicators of organic contamination of fecal origin, in the same way these can be important pathogens for the human being. Observing the results obtained, it is possible to appreciate that the sampling points in the municipalities of Tepatitlan (T3, T4, T6), Acatic (AC5), Arandas (AR2, AR3) and San Julian (SJ4) are where the amount of fecal coliform organisms they are considerable. This is directly related to the economic activities that take place in the affected municipalities as well as to the domestic wastewater discharges without adequate treatment coming from the population centers.