Water Issues: Bacteria & Viruses

Bacteria and viruses in your water supply can pose serious health risks, leading to illnesses and infections. Contaminants like E. coli, coliform bacteria, and various viruses can enter your water from surface runoff, sewage leaks, or compromised wells, making it unsafe for drinking and household use.

Water Issues: Bacteria & Viruses

Common Bacteria Found in Drinking Water

Drinking water can contain bacteria, viruses, and parasites that can make people sick. Some common bacteria found in drinking water include:

Coliform Bacteria

A group of bacteria that are naturally present in soil, plants, and the digestive tracts of animals and humans. Coliform bacteria are often called "indicator organisms" because they can indicate the presence of disease-causing bacteria in water. However, the presence of coliform bacteria doesn't guarantee that drinking the water will make you sick. Public water systems regularly test for coliform bacteria, and if they are found, the system will take steps to identify and eliminate the source of contamination. You can find the coliform bacteria test results for your local water system in the system's Water Quality Report, also known as a Consumer Confidence Report (CCR).

Salmonella

A common pathogen that can cause intestinal tract infections, such as salmonellosis. Salmonella bacteria are usually found in animal and human intestines and are shed through stool. Humans can become infected through contaminated water or food, and symptoms include chills, fever, headaches, and diarrhea.

Cryptosporidium

A parasite that can spread through contaminated drinking water and cause severe pain and painful diarrhea. Cryptosporidium parasites get into surface water sources, like lakes and rivers, from the stool of infected animals or people.

Back To Services

Need Help? Get in Touch

Have questions or need to schedule service? Get in touch with us today!

(917) 764-4600 or (203) 322-6300

- or -

Search Water Issues

Churyk Company Solutions for Removing Bacteria & Viruses

Ultra Violet Light Detection

Whether your well has a chronic issue or you don’t want to worry about bacteria affecting you and your family, we can install an ultraviolet light system designed to match your needs. This would eliminate any need to retest for bacteria regularly, giving you peace of mind.

Ultraviolet (UV) light kills bacteria in drinking water by damaging the DNA of microorganisms, making it impossible for them to reproduce and spread:

UV light penetrates the cell walls of bacteria.
UV light acts on pyrimidines (cytosine, C; thymine, T) in DNA, disrupting the double helix structure.
UV light causes microbial DNA to lose its physical and chemical structural properties.
UV light inhibits the production of metabolites for microbial growth.
UV light prevents DNA replication.

UV light is effective against a wide range of harmful bacteria and viruses, including coliform bacteria, E. coli, hepatitis, and giardia. It's also effective against pathogens such as Cryptosporidium and Giardia, which chlorine is unable to treat.

However, UV light doesn't work in all water conditions.

Some factors that can reduce its effectiveness include:

Unfiltered water: Particles in unfiltered water can absorb or scatter UV light.
Back flow, breaks, and biofilms: Recontamination can occur as soon as water leaves the UV light disinfection system.

UV light can also be used in tandem with filtration to remove other contaminants like heavy metals, salts, and chlorine.

Chlorine kills disease-causing organisms. UV light renders them harmless by scrambling its DNA with radiation. The organisms become unable to reproduce and no longer capable of infecting a host (i.e., a human body) when consumed.