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Understanding the water microbiome to inform water management plans to minimize the growth of Legionella in buildings
Citation:
Boczek, L., V. Gomez-Alvarez, AND R. Revetta. Understanding the water microbiome to inform water management plans to minimize the growth of Legionella in buildings. AWWA Virtual Summit: Sustainable Water Management, PFAS, and Waterborne Pathogens, Cincinnati, Virtual, February 10 - 11, 2021.
Impact/Purpose:
Research efforts focus on evaluating the interplay between water quality parameters, microbial communities, and opportunistic pathogens in drinking water systems utilizing various engineering designs and water management practices. The use of molecular approaches (e.g. next generation sequencing) in this research effort will help to develop a more comprehensive understanding of the microbial ecology in drinking water systems.
Description:
Built environments, such as occupational buildings, utilize control measures that are designed to provide safe water to occupants. These controls include at minimum, a disinfection and temperature control strategy that inadvertently shape the ecology and evolution of the microbiome. Culture techniques and the development of next-generation sequencing technology has made the analysis of the water microbiome more accessible and opens new perspectives in microbial ecology studies. The information obtained from these studies have the potential to provide insight about the diversity and functional profile of the microbial population and underlying mechanisms involved in microbial persistence and adaptations to the environment. In the spring of 2020, state and local government officials in the United States issued shelter-in-place recommendations and ordered the closing of high occupancy venues (e.g. non-essential buildings) to stop the global pandemic caused by novel coronavirus (SARS‐CoV‐2) disease (COVID‐19). During this time, unoccupied and low occupancy buildings may have experienced extended periods of low water demand without proper water management plans (i.e. mitigation). The present study focused on the monitoring of the water quality and microbiome in a 40-year-old large building before and after the implementation of a water management program. The performance of the water management program was constantly evaluated, and our sampling approach adjusted over time based on trend data and system changes. Our results indicate a highly dynamic and resilient microbial community. A comprehensive understanding of the microbial community and sampling strategy will improve the successful implementation of water management programs to reduce the potential risk associated with the water microbiome.