DOI: 10.35229/jaes.1921785 ISSN: 2548-0006

Temporal Variation And Persistence Of Bacterial Water-Quality Indicators In Rural Water Sources Of Kars Province, Türkiye: A Seven-Month Physicochemical And Microbiological Assessment

Destan Kalaçay, Kenan İzkübarlas, Bedrettin Savaş
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Background: Rural water sources shared by humans and animals may pose microbiological risks to public health. Aim: This study evaluated physicochemical and microbiological water quality in Kars Province, emphasizing temporal variation, persistence of bacterial indicators, and multivariate patterns. Materials and Methods: Thirty-eight sources were sampled monthly for seven months, yielding 266 site-month records. Physicochemical parameters, Escherichia coli (E. coli), and coliform bacteria were analyzed. Monthly differences were assessed with Friedman and Cochran’s Q tests, location-level associations with Spearman correlation, and multivariate patterns with principal component and hierarchical cluster analyses. Results: E. coli positivity ranged from 57.9% to 71.1%, and positivity for coliform bacteria from 52.6% to 73.7%, with significant monthly differences (p=0.018 and p=0.002, respectively). E. coli and coliform bacteria were detected during at least five months at 27 and 28 locations, respectively. Iron, nitrate, aluminum, pH, conductivity, turbidity, and copper differed significantly across months. No physicochemical parameter correlated significantly with either bacterial indicator, whereas the levels of E. coli and coliform bacteria were strongly correlated (ρ=0.940, p

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