Assessing the role of the drinking water distribution system on the bacterial community in public buildings
(2021) In TVVR21/5013 VVRM01 20211Division of Water Resources Engineering
- Abstract
- Safe drinking water is important and the water quality is related to the microbial community. In this study, two public buildings that receive drinking water at different locations in a distribution system were selected as sampling points. The drinking water samples in the buildings were sampled every week to investigate the impact of the distribution system on the microbial community. The sampling was carried out for two months, except a week of public holidays in the middle of it, which allowed us to assess the impact of water stagnation on the bacteria in the water.
The research methodology is to analyze the cells through flow cytometry, and preserve the DNA in the water through filtration for further research. The traditional tests... (More) - Safe drinking water is important and the water quality is related to the microbial community. In this study, two public buildings that receive drinking water at different locations in a distribution system were selected as sampling points. The drinking water samples in the buildings were sampled every week to investigate the impact of the distribution system on the microbial community. The sampling was carried out for two months, except a week of public holidays in the middle of it, which allowed us to assess the impact of water stagnation on the bacteria in the water.
The research methodology is to analyze the cells through flow cytometry, and preserve the DNA in the water through filtration for further research. The traditional tests for microbes, chemicals and metal analyses in the standard water quality tests were also submitted to Eurofins for testing.
It is found that the drinking water distribution system has a significant impact on the microbial community, and it was detected that more intact cells in building further from the DWTP was 240% higher than the one closer to the DWTP on average. The stagnation of water led to an increase in the number of total cells and percentage of the high nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria content in the water. In particular, the TCC was 120% and 220% higher after stagnation in school 1 and school 2, respectively. In addition, higher the temperature results in a higher cell content in the distribution samples. The distribution samples had lower cell count and fewer bacterial types compared to other samples. (Less) - Popular Abstract
- Drinking water is a daily necessity. Could you taste differences when you are drinking tap water from different places? Do you have any idea why the water taste varies a lot? Microbes might be part of the answer!
In this study, we focused on the impact of the distribution system on microbial communities. Two public buildings were chosen to be studied, one of them is closer to the drinking water distribution system and the other is further away. During March and April in 2021, we went to the buildings to take water samples from different taps and took the water back to Lund University for analysis. One week of stagnation was introduced in the study due to the Easter holiday.
Flow cytometry was the key technique in this project. It’s like... (More) - Drinking water is a daily necessity. Could you taste differences when you are drinking tap water from different places? Do you have any idea why the water taste varies a lot? Microbes might be part of the answer!
In this study, we focused on the impact of the distribution system on microbial communities. Two public buildings were chosen to be studied, one of them is closer to the drinking water distribution system and the other is further away. During March and April in 2021, we went to the buildings to take water samples from different taps and took the water back to Lund University for analysis. One week of stagnation was introduced in the study due to the Easter holiday.
Flow cytometry was the key technique in this project. It’s like counting sheep, but instead of you it’s the machine and instead of sheep they are cells, also it’s faster. Microbiology, chemical and metal analysis were applied as well. It was found that the distribution system has an influence on the microbial communities in the water in the building. The intact cells were present more in the building further down in the distribution system, which was a result of water age differences and pipes. The stagnation effect was investigated based on the cell count increase after the holiday. Moreover, since the weather was getting warmer, the water temperature was climbing during the two months, thus, more cells were detected in the water.
This project could be a useful reference for the government when it’s needed to establish important public buildings like hospitals and schools where clean and safe drinking water is fundamental. (Less)
Please use this url to cite or link to this publication:
http://lup.lub.lu.se/student-papers/record/9054708
- author
- Zhang, Zixuan LU
- supervisor
- organization
- course
- VVRM01 20211
- year
- 2021
- type
- H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
- subject
- keywords
- drinking water, drinking water distribution system, bacterial community, biofilm, HNA (High nucleic acid), flow cytometry
- publication/series
- TVVR21/5013
- report number
- 21/5013
- ISSN
- 1101-9824
- language
- English
- additional info
- Examiner: Kenneth M.Persson
- id
- 9054708
- date added to LUP
- 2021-06-15 13:41:31
- date last changed
- 2021-06-16 11:19:51
@misc{9054708,
abstract = {{Safe drinking water is important and the water quality is related to the microbial community. In this study, two public buildings that receive drinking water at different locations in a distribution system were selected as sampling points. The drinking water samples in the buildings were sampled every week to investigate the impact of the distribution system on the microbial community. The sampling was carried out for two months, except a week of public holidays in the middle of it, which allowed us to assess the impact of water stagnation on the bacteria in the water.
The research methodology is to analyze the cells through flow cytometry, and preserve the DNA in the water through filtration for further research. The traditional tests for microbes, chemicals and metal analyses in the standard water quality tests were also submitted to Eurofins for testing.
It is found that the drinking water distribution system has a significant impact on the microbial community, and it was detected that more intact cells in building further from the DWTP was 240% higher than the one closer to the DWTP on average. The stagnation of water led to an increase in the number of total cells and percentage of the high nucleic acid (HNA) bacteria content in the water. In particular, the TCC was 120% and 220% higher after stagnation in school 1 and school 2, respectively. In addition, higher the temperature results in a higher cell content in the distribution samples. The distribution samples had lower cell count and fewer bacterial types compared to other samples.}},
author = {{Zhang, Zixuan}},
issn = {{1101-9824}},
language = {{eng}},
note = {{Student Paper}},
series = {{TVVR21/5013}},
title = {{Assessing the role of the drinking water distribution system on the bacterial community in public buildings}},
year = {{2021}},
}