Does water with a high concentration of HPC bacteria present any concern to health?
Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) was the earliest tool of bacteriology starting in the late 19th century, but by the mid 20th century, science had advanced to a point where it was realised that although it could be used as a proxy indicator, a high plate count was not an indication of the safety of water. The United Kingdom Ministry of Health provided formal guidance on the bacteriological examination on water supplies.that was known as “Report 71” and according to the World Health organisation, by the 5th edition published in 1982, “all reference to the use of HPC to potentially indicate faecal contamination had been dropped” Even commercial bottled water has been found to contain high levels of heterotrophic bacteria.. These reach a HPC bacterial count of 7300 cfu/ml (colony forming units per millilitre). Even famous brands , contain some level of “colony forming units” Arkwater water filtration removes over 99.99% of harmful microbial pathogens, meaning that even if there is a high H
