A glass of water contains 10 million bacteria but all good, claims study

octors always insist on drinking lot of fresh water as it is good for health. A new study has come up that has given another good reason to drink water. Even a glass of fresh water contains more than ten million bacteria that are good for health in some way or other, says the new study. These bacteria help in purifying water, making it healthier for drinking.

Study authors were astonished to find that water on such a large scale was purified naturally by bacteria in pipes and purification plants. Until today, scientists didn’t know about the existence of any such process.

One of the lead researchers said that they have found more than ten million good bacteria in a glass of water. Researchers explained that clean tap water always contain these good bacteria and they grow in the drinking water treatment plant and on the inside of our water pipes, which can be seen in the form of a thin, sticky coating – a so-called biofilm. All surfaces from the raw water intake to the tap are covered in this biofilm.

The new find suggests that bacteria can play a vital role in purifying the water in pipes than previously thought. The discovery lead to the theory that most of the water purification in done in pipes in water purification process rather than in purification plant.

Lead study author Catherine Paul from the University of Lund in Sweden said, “a previously completely unknown ecosystem has revealed itself to us. Formerly, you could hardly see any bacteria at all and now, thanks to techniques such as massive DNA sequencing and flow cytometry, we suddenly see eighty thousand bacteria per milliliter in drinking water.”

Paul further added that we have known about the existence of some good bacteria like in our intestine they help in digestion of food and keep us healthy. Maybe they have a much bigger role to play, beyond our imagination and we have to find that, said Paul.

Moreover, the quality of water might be directly proportional to the amount of bacteria present in water, however, further study is needed to confirm the find.