ABSTRACT
Evidence that a bacterial problem may be occurring can take the form of a generating slime coating, floccular material or cloudiness which gradually intensifies in the water sample accompanied perhaps by changes to the taste, odor and color in the water. Many microorganisms within ground water systems do not function independently in separate niches but cooperate with other species to form communities involving often many more than one species. Some bacterial cells form a very heat resistant body within the cell where all essential components of the cell are concentrated. Three of these are of particular interest in relation to ground water environments. Of these, the most ubiquitous are the aerobic endosporogenous group called Bacillus. Many species of Bacillus occur naturally in oxidative ground water and are frequently components in biofilms that cause plugging. The only species pathogenic to humans is Bacillus anthracis, the causant organism for anthrax.
