Issue 7, 2013

Bacterial community of iron tubercles from a drinking water distribution system and its occurrence in stagnant tap water

Abstract

Bacteria in drinking water distribution systems can cause deterioration of the water quality, and the microbial quality of tap water is closely related to consumer health. In the present study, the potential effects of bacteria attached to cast iron pipes on tap water in a distribution system were investigated. Comparison of the bacterial community composition of pipe tubercles with that of stagnant tap water samples based on a denaturing gradient gel electrophoresis analysis of the 16S rRNA gene revealed that the communities were related. Specifically, the main bacterial members were identical to each other. The bacterial community was found to be dominated by Firmicutes, Actinobacteria, and Proteobacteria, which included Rhizobium, Pseudomonas, Lactococcus, Brevundimonas, Rheinheimera, Arthrobacter, Bacillus, and Herbaspirillum. Heterotrophic bacteria proliferation was observed during the period of stagnation, followed by a decrease of assimilable organic carbon and a slight increase of microbially available phosphorus. These findings indicated that the regrowth of bacteria might be boosted by the release of nutrients such as phosphorus from the pipe walls, as well as the decline of residual chlorine during stagnation. Inorganic contaminants at low levels, including Al, Mn, Zn, Pb, Cr, Cu, and Ni, were detected in tubercles and were concentrated in particulates from tap water following the release of iron during stagnation.

Graphical abstract: Bacterial community of iron tubercles from a drinking water distribution system and its occurrence in stagnant tap water

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Paper
Submitted
02 Apr 2013
Accepted
25 Apr 2013
First published
25 Apr 2013

Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013,15, 1332-1340

Bacterial community of iron tubercles from a drinking water distribution system and its occurrence in stagnant tap water

L. Chen, R. Jia and L. Li, Environ. Sci.: Processes Impacts, 2013, 15, 1332 DOI: 10.1039/C3EM00171G

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