How clean is your drinking water?
Microbiology of urban water systems: an interdisciplinary approach
Peter Deines1,2,3, Mark Osborn2, Joby Boxall3 & Catherine Biggs1
1 Department
of Chemical and Process Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK
2 Department of Animal and Plant Sciences, The University of Sheffield, UK
3 Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK
P-161 LIF
Why study drinking water distribution systems?
The formation of microbial biofilms on pipe walls causes following problems:
• public health problems - pathogens
• aesthetic problems - undesirable tastes, odours, visual turbidity
• major costs for water companies through microbial growth
p.deines@sheffield.ac.uk
Science objective:
Design innovative and effective controls
strategies that will ensure safe and highquality drinking water
Experimental lab work
Field studies
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• isolation of bacterial strains
from drinking water
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• planktonic microbial
community composition
in natural systems
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P2-1
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• studying interspecies
interactions in
biofilm
formation
• water age and
diversity
Drinking water - an Ecosystem
Water channel
Matrix for the survival of pathogens
Fast growing cells
Slow growing cells
Pathogens
multicellular
structures
low-nutrient
environment
nutrient stress triggers
aggregation
planktonic cells
biofilm
Biofilm dispersal and detachment
Conditions to be tested:
• hydraulics
• temperature
• water quality
Laboratory pipe test facility
• community profiling of planktonic and
biofilm microbial communities in response
to changing conditions
• studying biofilm characteristics
References Figures taken from: Stoodley et al. 2002, Vreeburg et al. 2007, www.ehu.sbs.soton.ac.uk/art/biofilm (modified)