Objective:

The purpose of research was determining the microbiological quality of the thermal water of the “El Tingo” Spa, located at 2500 mamsl, Pichincha Province, Ecuador.

Methods:

Four samplings were carried out at different times of the year and in two areas of the Spa. The physicochemical parameters (conductivity, hardness, dissolved oxygen, pH, dissolved solids and temperature) were determined “in situ”. The heterotrophic bacteria, coliforms and molds was determined, as well as the identification of the isolated strains according to the indicated by MacFaddin (2004).

Results:

The Tingo thermal water is classified as very strong conductivity, excessive mineralization, very hard water, with very little dissolved oxygen, neutral pH and hyperthermal. The average count of heterotrophic bacteria in the water contained in the cistern of the spa were 2.10 x 102 CFU / mL, coliforms 0.30 x 10 CFU / mL and fungi1,00 x 10 CFU / mL. For the thermal water showers, the average values were 2.42 x 102 CFU/ mL of heterotrophic bacteria, 0.85 x 10 CFU / mL coliforms and 0.68 x 10 CFU/mLfungi. Escherichia coli were not detectedin any of the samples. It was possible to identify 14 Gram negative strains of the genus Aeromonas, Burkholderia, Citrobacter and Pseudomonas, 5 Gram positive of the genera Bacillus and Staphylococcus and 2 fungal strains of the genus Aspergillus.

Conclusions:

The results obtained show little and not very diverse microbial population, which implies a good quality of water and aquifers.

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