Sanitary-microbiological characteristics of water in the area of the Zmeinyi thermal spring (Northern Baikal, Russia, 2022)

Abstract

The analysis of sanitary-significant microorganisms in two baths of the thermal spring Zmeinyi, the streams of the baths and at a distance of 5 and 20 meters from the shore was carried out during the day before and the day after tourists’ bathing. Exceedance of permissible values of sanitary-microbiological indicators in accordance with SanPiN 1.2.3685-21 were detected in the baths, streams of outflow and in the water edge at a distance of up to 5 meters. The indicator of total (generalized) coliform bacteria (TCB) in all studied samples did not decrease throughout the day, the highest values of the number of opportunistic microorganisms were observed in the baths of the thermal spring and in the streams of outflow, where the water temperature was ~ 32 - 33°С. The obtained self-cleaning coefficients in the littoral zone up to 20 m had low values (from 0.0008 to 2.53).