10 likes | 140 Views
4. 3. 5. 7. 1. P5-2 P2-1 P4-1 P1-1 P4-2 P5-1. How clean is your drinking water? Microbiology of urban water systems: an interdisciplinary approach. Peter Deines 1,2,3 , Mark Osborn 2 , Joby Boxall 3 & Catherine Biggs 1
E N D
4 3 5 7 1 P5-2 P2-1 P4-1 P1-1 P4-2 P5-1 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, UK 3 Department of Civil and Structural Engineering, The University of Sheffield, UK p.deines@sheffield.ac.uk P-161 LIF • 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 Experimental lab work Field studies • isolation of bacterial strains • from drinking water • studying interspecies • interactions in • biofilm • formation Chemical and Process Engineering: cell-cell interactions • planktonic microbial • community composition • in natural systems • water age and • diversity Drinking water - an Ecosystem Civil and Structural Engineering: hydraulics and modelling of potable water systems Water channel Fast growing cells Matrix for the survival of pathogens Slow growing cells Pathogens Animal and Plant Sciences: molecular environmental microbiology multicellular structures nutrient stress triggers aggregation low-nutrient environment planktonic cells biofilm Biofilm dispersal and detachment • Conditions to be tested: • hydraulics • temperature • water quality Laboratory pipe test facility • community profiling of planktonic and • biofilm microbial communities in response • to changing conditions • studying biofilm characteristics References Figures taken from: Stoodley et al. 2002, Vreeburg et al. 2007, www.ehu.sbs.soton.ac.uk/art/biofilm (modified)