Effect of vegetated filter strips on infiltration and survival rates of Escherichia coli in soil matrix at Mau, Njoro River Watershed, Kenya

Overland flows contaminated with manure borne pathogens pose risks to public health, because fecal pathogens may infiltrate into soil matrix from overland flows and contaminate soil water aquifers. The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of vegetative filter strip (VFS) on infiltration rates (CFU 100 ml −1 h −1 ) of Escherichia coli ( E. coli ) in overland flow and their survival rates in soil matrix. Thirty samples of the specimen were collected from VFSs each sampling time. The samples were each filtered, followed by a series of ten dilutions; then analyses for E. coli using membrane filtration technique. Wet oxidation method and potassium persulfate technique were used to analyze particulate organic carbon (POC) and dissolved organic carbon (DOC) at ( p