TL;DR
A coliform bacteria test is a laboratory analysis of well water that screens for total coliforms and E. coli, indicator organisms whose presence signals that surface contamination or sewage may be reaching the supply.
What it means
A coliform bacteria test is a laboratory analysis of well water that screens for total coliforms and E. coli, indicator organisms whose presence signals that surface contamination or sewage may be reaching the supply. Health departments recommend it annually for private wells and after any flood, repair, or change in taste or odor. The sample goes in a sterile bottle to a certified lab; a positive result usually triggers shock chlorination, a wellhead inspection, and retesting before the water is trusted again.
Where it sits in the glossary
Coliform bacteria test is part of the Trade jargon group inside the ProFix Directory glossary. Browse every term in this category from the glossary index.
Why Ohio homeowners should know it
This is a term Ohio homeowners encounter when reading contractor quotes, hiring paperwork, or inspection reports. Understanding it well enough to ask one good follow-up question is usually all the protection a homeowner needs.
ProFix Directory keeps definitions short on the index page and saves the longer context — Ohio-specific rules, where the term comes from, and which ProFix tools touch it — for these per-term pages so the term is easy to cite and easy to share.
ProFix tools that touch this term
See also
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