Technologies utilised by aquavalens are robust and provide reliable data on pathogen numbers in water supply systems
Knowledge of pathogen occurrence in sources of drinking water is necessary to be able to assess the robustness of water treatment.
A rigorous evaluation was necessary to ensure that the technologies utilised by the Aquavalens project are robust and will provide reliable data on pathogen numbers in water supply systems. Aquavalens organised and implemented an extensive programme of testing of the novel technologies such as concentration methods for large volumes, detection techniques for several different types of waterborne pathogens and integrated platforms in real water systems for online detection of indicators. A multidisciplinary team was put together that consists of universities, technological centre’s,
The activities undertaken included sampling and analysing water samples to detect waterborne pathogens at selected sites located in various large drinking water distribution systems across Europe. These sites included Drinking Water Treatment Plants (DWTPs) and Distribution Networks (DNs). The main objectives of this part of the Aquavalens project were to demonstrate the potential use and applicability of these technologies in real systems, and to assess how they could help to manage water safety. This research also aims to give recommendations on the applicability of the different analytical tools in large water systems.
More details on the results of the pilot of the BACTcontrol at Aguas de Barcelona will be published in an IWA publication: Microbiological Sensors for the Drinking Water Industry (in press).
