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Page No. : 37-40

ABSTRACT

A study was conducted to assess the physiochemical and microbiological quality of water from two shellfish growing areas in southern Kerala. The physiochemical parameters were found within the normal range with a pH of 6.7 for water from both T S canal and Poovar and a temperature of 29oC and 28oC for water fromT S canal and Poovar respectively. Brackish water from T S canal had salinity of 3740.16 ppm, whereas for seawater from Poovar it was 31206.96 ppm. Faecal streptococci could not be detected in water samples from T Scanal but were detected in 4 out of 13 sea water samples from Poovar with a mean of 17 CFU/ ml. The MPN forfaecal coliforms of water from T S canal ranged from 3.6 to 93/100 ml with an average of 25.52/100 ml and that from sea water in Poovar ranged from 3.6 to 43/100 ml with an average of 14.47/100 ml. The study revealed a higher total coliform count for both sampling areas than the standard set by National Shellfish Sanitation Programme of US, being slightly higher than the standard for water from T S canal, while water from Poovar was nearly within the standard range

Keywords : Brakish water, physiochemical parameters, poovar, streptococci