Checkley, SylviaInvik, Jesse2015-07-242016-02-112015-07-242015Invik, J. (2015). Total Coliform and Escherichia coli Positivity in Rural Well Water in Alberta, Canada: Spatiotemporal Analysis and Risk Factor Assessment (Master's thesis, University of Calgary, Calgary, Canada). Retrieved from https://prism.ucalgary.ca. doi:10.11575/PRISM/28466http://hdl.handle.net/11023/2364Water quality and waterborne outbreaks are public health issues of concern in Canada and worldwide. In Alberta, Canada, testing of rural drinking water wells is largely voluntary. The purpose of this research was to describe microbial water quality (i.e., Escherichia coli and total coliform contamination) of rural well water spatiotemporally and produce a relative risk map of the province as well as model associations between environmental risk factors and well water E. coli and total coliform contamination. Overall frequency of occurrence of total coliforms and E. coli-positive wells in the study was 14.6 and 1.5%, respectively. A relative risk map of the province identified several areas of higher relative risk in both Northern and Southern Alberta. A number of significant environmental risk factors were associated with increased E. coli and total coliform contamination, including precipitation, sand, density of large animals, and soil hydraulic conductivity.  engUniversity of Calgary graduate students retain copyright ownership and moral rights for their thesis. You may use this material in any way that is permitted by the Copyright Act or through licensing that has been assigned to the document. For uses that are not allowable under copyright legislation or licensing, you are required to seek permission.Environmental SciencesEpidemiologyPublic HealthEscherichia coliTotal coliformsPublic HealthAnimal densityGround waterRuralGISmaster thesis10.11575/PRISM/28466