Bacterial Regrowth in Water Distribution Systems and Its Relationship to the Water Quality: Case Study of Two Distribution Systems in Korea

This study was done to observe the occurrence of heterotrophic bacteria in terms of free chlorine residuals in two different water distribution systems, which belongs to both K and Y water treatment plant of S city in Korea. The data analyzed in the distribution systems show that the free chlorine residuals decreased from 0.10 to 0.56 mg/l for K, and 0.51 to 0.78 mg/l for Y. The decay of free chlorine is clearly higher in both March and August than in January. The HPC in the distribution systems are ranged from 0 to 40 cfu/ml for K, 0 to 270 cfu/ml for Y, on $R_2$A medium. In particular, its level is relatively high at the consumer's ground storage tanks, taps, and the point-of-end area of Y. The predominant genera that were studied in the distribution systems were Acinetobacter, Sphingomonas (branch of Pseudomonas), Micrococcus, Bacillus, Staphylococcus. The diversity of heterotrophic bacteria increases in the end-point area. Most of them are either encapsulated cells or of Gram-positve cocci. In conclusion, the point-of-end area in distribution systems shows the longer flow distance from the water treatment plants, along with a greater diversity and a higher level of heterotrophic bacteria, due to the significant decay of free chlorine residuals.