30. Behavior of Fecal Contamination Indicators in Waters of the Tourist Complex “Las Terrazas”, Pinar del Río, Cuba

The pollution of natural waters is a serious worldwide problem due to the constant dumping of untreated or poorly treated domestic and industrial wastes. The aims of this work are to evaluate the microbiological water quality of the Tourist Complex Las Terrazas and to determine the ratio of Escherichia coli/fecal coliform. The samples were collected from 10 sampling stations of Las Terrazas. Fecal coliform and E. coli were isolated and quantified. The results show that the aquatic ecosystems of Las Terrazas do not have a high contamination degree, with values of E. coli within the maximum limit established by Cuban standards for recreational water and irrigation, but the fecal coliform values were slightly higher than the established standards. There is no linear correlation between the concentrations of these indicators of fecal contamination, with an average value of 0.46 for the ratio E. coli/ fecal coliform. These results show the good microbiological water quality of Las Terrazas and increase the information about this ecosystem located in Sierra del Rosario (Biosphere Reserve).