正在进行的总大肠菌群的重新谈判 这条规则将直接影响供水商的检测方式 并对污染做出反应。本文对此进行了总结 围绕指标使用的问题和历史 用于检测微生物污染的细菌 提供饮用水和公共设施 了解可能的规则更改并参与 在重新谈判过程中更有意义。 许多问题与使用 选择大肠菌群总数作为 美国的饮用水监测。 大肠杆菌已经成为一种可行的替代品 由于大肠杆菌检测的进步， 对配电系统生物膜的新认识， 新出现的水传播病原体，以及不断增长的 国际社会接受大肠杆菌作为感染的指标 粪便污染。用大肠杆菌代替总大肠菌群。 大肠杆菌作为选择的指标会显著降低 现在在大肠菌群检测上的后续工作 几乎没有或根本没有公共卫生意义。包括51篇参考文献。

The ongoing renegotiation of the Total Coliform Rule will directly affect how water providers detect and respond to contamination. This article summarizes the issues and history surrounding the use of indicator bacteria for detecting microbial contamination of drinking water and provides background to help utilities understand possible rule changes and participate more meaningfully in the renegotiation process. Numerous problems are associated with the use of total coliform bacteria as the indicator of choice for drinking water monitoring in the United States. Escherichia coli has emerged as a viable replacement for total coliforms because of advances in E. coli testing, new understanding about distribution systems biofilms, newly emerged waterborne pathogens, and growing international acceptance of E. coli as an indicator of fecal contamination. Replacing total coliform with E. coli as the indicator of choice would significantly reduce followup efforts now spent on total coliform detections that have little or no public health significance. Includes 51 references.