Factors controlling the survival of viruses in groundwater

The purpose of this work was to define factors which control virus survival in groundwater. Groundwater samples collected from throughout the United States were inoculated with the coliphage MS-2 and the rate of virus inactivation determined. All samples were incubated at the temperature of the native groundwater. All samples were analyzed for pH, nitrates, ammonia, turbidity, total dissolved solids, and calcium, magnesium and total hardness. Multiple regression analysis of the chemical variates indicated that temperature and calcium hardness were significantly correlated with the rate of virus die-off. Temperature alone account for 60% of the variation in decay rate. Using all variates, 94% of the variation could be predicted.