The PathWest Laboratory Medicine WA Water Examination Laboratory (WEL) has over 30 years of experience in the field of water microbiology. The WEL tests water for the entire state of WA and beyond. It is the largest laboratory of its type in the State, analysing samples for the Water Corporation, Department of Health and many private companies. The WEL provides accurate results of one our most essential resources to ensure the public’s safety for drinking and recreational purposes.
The types of water samples the Water Examination Laboratory test on a routine basis include:
- Drinking water – treated and untreated
- Packaged water – ice and bottled
- Hospital water - reverse osmosis and dialysis machine
- Recreational water - swimming pools, spas and hydrotherapy pools
- Cooling tower and air conditioning water
- Natural water - rivers and oceans
- Wastewater – sewage and irrigation effluent
- Industrial process water – for industry eg. poultry process water
PathWest’s WEL is NATA accredited for testing water samples using Australian Standards, International Standards or fully validated equivalents. The methods are chosen for their sensitivity, specificity, fast turn around time and cost effectiveness. The WEL is at the forefront of new developments and offers a variety of specialised methods such as defined substrate technology – including fluorogenic and chromogenic media.
The Water Examination Laboratory offers a wide variety of bacteriological tests including:
- Total Coliforms
- Thermotolerant coliforms
- E.coli
- Pseudomonas aeruginosa
- Heterotrophic plate counts
- Standard plate counts
- Faecal streptococci
- Enterococci
- Salmonella spp.
- Sulphite Reducing Clostridia including Clostridium perfringens
- Campylobacter spp.
- Legionella spp.
As well as bacteriological tests, the WEL tests for thermophilic amoeba including Naegleria fowleri, which can live in swimming pools and causes amoebic meningitis. The WEL also tests for Acanthamoeba in corneal scrapings and eye swabs.
For information on how PathWest can help monitor and protect your water sources and products, please contact our Marketing department on (08) 9346 2142 or marketing@pathwest.com.au
Measurement uncertainty data on PathWest Water quantitative tests can be downloaded here |
