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Microbial Risk Assessment of Air Conditioning Condensate Reuse
Citation:
Jahne, M., K. Helmick, G. Eades, M. Pait, S. Pfaller, D. King, N. Brinkman, S. Keely, M. Nye, AND J. Garland. Microbial Risk Assessment of Air Conditioning Condensate Reuse. 2018 Water Research Foundation Conference, Atlanta, GA, May 07 - 08, 2018.
Impact/Purpose:
The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s (EPA) FY 2018-2022 Draft Strategic Plan promotes research addressing the challenges of water resources management through innovative, cost effective and environmentally friendly solutions to potable and non-potable water use/reuse. One such research topic is the analysis of decentralized non-potable water systems, which collect and treat locally-available alternative water sources (e.g., rainwater or greywater) for reuse applications such as irrigation or toilet flushing at or near their point of generation. While these systems are expected to conserve water resources by reducing potable water demand, the specific environmental, economic, and public health impacts of their implementation remain largely unknown. To enable well-informed decisions regarding decentralized water reuse, the U.S. EPA Office of Research and Development is currently evaluating the feasibility and cost/benefits of various non-potable reuse configurations. This session presents several ongoing efforts within the research area, including quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA), life cycle assessment (LCA), life cycle cost analysis (LCCA), and treatment technology evaluation for the use of greywater, wastewater, rainwater, and air conditioning condensate in decentralized non-potable water systems.
Description:
Air conditioning condensate can provide a substantial water source for building-scale collection and non-potable use. Although produced water is anticipated to be of generally high quality, the potential for microbial contamination by biofilm-associated opportunistic pathogens that frequently colonize premise plumbing systems requires a risk-based approach to its collection and onsite reuse. In this study, biweekly water samples were collected from four commercial air handling units and analyzed for Legionella and Mycobacterium using cultivation-based and molecular methods. Results were then used to develop a quantitative microbial risk assessment model for use of untreated condensate in non-potable applications such as landscape irrigation.
URLs/Downloads:
http://www.werf.org/i/Events1/2018_Research_Conference/c/Events/2017/2018_Research_Conference/2018_Research_Conf