Ground water and Pseudomonas

Question

Hello,

could you tell me whether I have to worry about Pseudomonas in the ground water which is conveyed with a house pump? My daughter is nearly 2 years old and I question whether it is safe to water the flowers, wash the car or fill the swimming pool, since there are aerosols which might reach my daughter.

It is reasonabel to argue that letting the water run for some time which cleans the reserovir of the pum or the water tubings would results in no Pseudomonas bacteria. the water is also cool. At which temperature Pseudomonas thrives best?

Thanks for the answer. Greetings V.M.

Answer

Dear V.M.

I cannot exclude Pseudomons in your water system and I do not know the distance which the aerosls have to travel to reach your daughter.
In general, aerosols need to contain high concentrations of Pseudomonas in order to be dangerous, e.g., at distances below 2 meters and concentrations of more thqan 10 millions per ml.

The potential risk for your daughter may be when she is swimming in the pool. To be sure, I recommmend to let the Pseudomonas concentration in the swimming pool and the tubings be determined by a certificated laboratory. This would also answer your second questions. Pseudomonas survives at 4°C and grows well at 30 to 37°C

I hope that helps

Prof. Gerd Döring

26.04.2010