The Sevier County Rotary Water Task Force distributed 200 test kits May 17 to county residents in an effort to assess well water sanitation throughout the county. The following week 185 kits were returned for evaluation by Microbac Laboratories in Maryville. By now, residents should have received test results in the mail.

The water samples were checked for "total coliform," with results ranging from 0 parts per 100 ml to "TNTC" (too numerous to count). Coliforms are a kind of bacteria located in the digestive tracts of animals and humans, soil and decaying vegetation. They are generally not harmful, but they are used as a gauge of water quality. Water contamination is typically associated with fecal contamination from animals and humans.

The Environmental Protection Agency says that no level of bacteria in drinking water is safe. The United States Departments of Federal Housing Administration and Housing and Urban Development both will accept bacterial counts under 10 parts per 100 ml as acceptably healthy for drinking water.

ixteen percent of the recent tests revealed counts above 10; 32% were between 0 and 10; and 52% revealed no coliform bacteria.

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