Abstract
The rate of discharge and the concentration of viable soil bacteria in the water from a subsurface field drain were monitored for 4 months during Winter. The concentration of bacteria in the water was related to the flow rate of the discharge by an equation of the form: log bacterial concentration = a + b log flow rate + c (log flow rate), 2 where a, b and c are constants. The total number of viable bacteria in the drainage water discharged during the 4 months represented approximately 0·1 per cent of an estimate of the total number of viable bacteria present in the soil of the experimental plot. It was concluded that the numbers of bacteria lost from soil by wash-out in drainage water were an insignificant fraction of the probable annual production of bacteria in the soil.
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