The Role of Chlorine in the Formation and Development of Tap Water Biofilms under Different Flow Regimes.

ABSTRACT: Water companies make efforts to reduce the risk of microbial contamination in drinking water. A widely used strategy is to introduce chlorine into the drinking water distribution system (DWDS). A subtle potential risk is that non-lethal chlorine residuals may select for chlorine resistant species in the biofilms that reside in DWDS. Here, we quantify the thickness, density, and coverage of naturally occurring multi-species biofilms grown on slides in tap water with and without chlorine, using fluorescence microscopy. We then place the slides in an annular rotating reactor and expose them to fluid-wall shears, which are redolent of those on pipe walls in DWDS. We found that biofilms in chlorine experiment were thicker, denser and with higher coverage than in non-chlorine conditions under al

SUBMITTER: Tsagkari E 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC10673482 | biostudies-literature | 2023 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature