H2-OH! What Grows in Our Water?
Access to clean drinking water is essential for supporting student health, cognitive function, and academic success. With most university students regularly using reusable water bottles, and many relying on either tap or filtered water, understanding the microbial content of these water sources is important. This study compared bacterial and fungal colony counts in tap and filtered water collected from two University of Minnesota Rochester student residences: 318 Commons and Residence at Discovery Square (RDS). Water samples were plated on agar plates using sterile techniques and incubated for 48 hours at room temperature to quantify microbial growth. Results showed that tap water from 318 Commons exhibited the highest bacterial and fungal colony counts, while filtered water from both locations produced substantially lower counts. These findings suggest that tap water sources may harbor greater microbial abundance and that household filtration may reduce bacterial presence. While limited by a small sample size, this study highlights the potential variability in microbial load across residential water sources. It underscores the need for further investigation, including larger sampling efforts and identification of specific microbial species.