Project description:In premise plumbing, microbial water quality may deteriorate under certain conditions, such as stagnation. Stagnation results in a loss of disinfectant residual, which may lead to the regrowth of microorganisms, including opportunistic pathogens. In the present study, microbial regrowth was investigated at eight faucets in a building over four seasons in one year. Water samples were obtained before and after 24 h of stagnation. In the first 100 mL after stagnation, total cell counts measured by flow cytometry increased 14- to 220-fold with a simultaneous decrease in free chlorine from 0.17-0.36 mg L-1 to <0.02 mg L-1. After stagnation, total cell counts were not significantly different among seasons; however, the composition of the microbial community varied seasonally. The relative abundance of Pseudomonas spp. was dominant in winter, whereas Sphingomonas spp. were dominant in most faucets after stagnation in other seasons. Opportunistic pathogens, such as Legionella pneumophila, Mycobacterium avium, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and Acanthamoeba spp., were below the quantification limit for real-time quantitative PCR in all samples. However, sequences related to other opportunistic pathogens, including L. feeleii, L. maceachernii, L. micdadei, M. paragordonae, M. gordonae, and M. haemophilum, were detected. These results indicate that health risks may increase after stagnation due to the regrowth of opportunistic pathogens.
Project description:The lead contamination of drinking water in homes and buildings remains an important public health concern. In order to assess strategies to measure and reduce exposure to lead from drinking water, models are needed that incorporate the multiple factors affecting lead concentrations in premise plumbing systems (PPS). In this study, the use of EPANET, a commonly used hydraulic and water quality model for water distribution systems, was assessed for its ability to predict lead concentrations in PPS. The model was calibrated and validated against data collected from multiple experiments in the EPA's Home Plumbing Simulator that contained a lead service line and other lead sources. The EPANET's first-order saturation kinetics model was used to simulate the dissolution of lead in the lead service line. A version of EPANET was developed to include one-dimensional mass dispersion. Modeling results were compared to experimental data, and recommendations were made to improve the EPANET-based modeling framework for predicting lead concentrations in PPS.
| S-EPMC7898126 | biostudies-literature
Project description:Extreme Stagnation within Premise Plumbing