Resumen
Bacteriological analyses of 3,942 water samples was undertaken. Samples hailed from many different sources, or rather, reservoirs (1,033), faucets (1,594), swimming pools (789), spring water (96), private wells (350) and others (80). They were obtained for routine testing between 1996 and 1999 and comparatively analyzed for total and fecal coliform bacteria by a multiple-tube fermentation technique. Total and fecal coliform bacteria were detected in 595 and 235 of the water samples, respectively, and were associated with the following factors: as raw water, chlorinated water, source water, wet season, dry season, pH, and disinfectant residuals. As expected, the highest number of water samples contaminated by total (362) and fecal (159) coliform bacteria was found in the raw water at source and at the consumption end among urban and rural communities. The people of these areas use water directly from available sources, without any treatment and are therefore exposed to a variety of water-related diseases.