• isolation of bacterial strains from drinking water

• studying interspecies interactions in biofilm formation

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, UK3 Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UKP-161 LIF

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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

Science objective:Design innovative and effective controls strategies that will ensure safe and high-quality drinking water

low-nutrient environment

Field studiesExperimental lab work

Laboratory pipe test facility

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• planktonic microbial community composition

in natural systems

• community profiling of planktonic and biofilm microbial communities in response to changing conditions

Conditions to be tested:• hydraulics

• temperature• water quality

• studying biofilm characteristics

Drinking water - an Ecosystem

Biofilm dispersal and detachment

Matrix for the survival of pathogens

multicellular structures

biofilm

nutrient stress triggers aggregation

planktonic cells

• water age and

diversity

References Figures taken from: Stoodley et al. 2002, Vreeburg et al. 2007, www.ehu.sbs.soton.ac.uk/art/biofilm (modified)

Fast growing cells Slow growing cells

Pathogens

Water channel

p.deines@sheffield.ac.uk