THE IMPORTANCE OF CONTINUOUS ONLINE WATER QUALITY MONITORING IN DRINKING WATER PRODUCTION, STORAGE AND DISTRIBUTION IN REGARD TO CLIMATE CHANGE
The global rise in temperature in regard to climate change affects the water supply in many different ways. In Austria, for example, regionally varying changes in groundwater recharge are expected. Another direct consequence of climate change is the increased number of extreme weather events in the form of heat waves. The increasing temperature has a particular impact on the temperature balance of groundwater, while heat waves are a very direct consequence of climate change in the distribution of drinking water to the consumer. Changes in temperature infl uence a large number of chemical, physical and microbiological parameters and processes. Such changes affect the groundwater itself and thus the raw water quality, e.g. a possible increase in dissolved organic carbon, expressed by the DOC, the manganese concentration, and, associated with this, a lower oxygen concentration. Similarly, an infl uence on subsequent processes in the treatment, storage and distribution of drinking water up to the consumer can be expected. The superimposition with a changed utilization behavior, changed fl ow rates and changes in pipeline construction (pipe material, bedding material, multiple troughs) create new environmental conditions, which can additionally intensify climatic effects.
The majority of consumers interpret low drinking water temperatures (especially in the summer months) as an indication of high quality and freshness of the drinking water. In contrast, an increased temperature and an unusual odor and taste are more likely to be perceived as a quality problem.
Even a slight increase in temperature can lead to general changes in the microbiological processes in the drinking water supply. These changes can be noticed by a change in the microbiological stability of the distributed water or the tendency of re-infection. Depending on the chemical-physical and microbiological raw and pure water quality and specifi c operational boundary conditions, undesirable reductions of the “usual” drinking water quality (especially CFU, coliform bacteria) can occur.
A more precise and meaningful investigation of the above- mentioned changes and their possible interactions with the safety and quality of drinking water supply has increasingly become the focus of attention in the water industry in the past years. At the
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same time, innovative, highly sensitive and effi cient analytical methods have been developed that can be used for a more in- depth investigation of these issues, such as:.
• Online monitoring of chemical and physical properties (e.g. organics, turbidity, electrical conductivity, temperature)
• (Online) fl ow cytometry for very accurate and fast determination of the total number of bacterial cells in a water sample
• DNA sequencing method for the determination of the species composition of the entire bacterial community
Project description
The project “Effects of elevated water temperatures in drinking water production, storage and distribution” aims to assess the described effects in the Austrian water industry and to investigate strategies to avert negative consequences. The focus here is on determining the microbiological situation in drinking water
Figure 1: Functional principle of the pipe::scan
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