Anaerobic incubation of membrane filter cultures for improved detection of fecal coliforms from recreational waters

Anaerobic incubation of membrane filter cultures significantly enhanced detection of fecal coliforms in surface-water samples from recreational beaches. In contrast to standard aerobic incubation, anaerobic incubation suppressed overgrowth of masking, noncoliform bacteria but did not increase the frequency of fecal coliform recovery.