I want to DETECT how E. coli interacts with the cations and anions such as Na, K, Ca, Cl, SO4, and HCO3 in groundwater, and how I can measure that.
You need to create a microcosm in the laboratory for that purpose. However, let me warn you that it is not easy as there are other factors like other microorganisms present and growing at different specific growth rate in that environment along with other interactions between living and non living components and non living components where the entropy of the system (like ground water or for that matter in soil) will play a vital role. Think over and we shall discuss upon hearing from you next time.
Pathogenic bacteria will be present in wastewater at much lower levels than the coliform group of bacteria, which are much easier to identify and enumerate (as total coliforms/100ml). Escherichia coli are the most widely adopted indicator of faecal pollution and they can also be isolated and identified fairly simply, with their numbers usually being given in the form of faecal coliforms (FC)/100 ml of wastewater.
Coliforms and Faecal Coliforms. The Coliform group of bacteria comprises mainly species of the genera Citrobacter, Enterobacter, Escherichia and Klebsiella and includes Faecal Coliforms, of which Escherichia coli is the predominant species. Several of the Coliforms are able to grow outside of the intestine, especially in hot climates, hence their enumeration is unsuitable as a parameter for monitoring wastewater reuse systems. The Faecal Coliform test may also include some non-faecal organisms which can grow at 44°C, so the E. coli count is the most satisfactory indicator parameter for wastewater use in agriculture.
http://www.fao.org/docrep/T0551E/t0551e03.htm
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