Why disinfection?
Pathogens
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THERE ARE 3 GROUPS OF PATHOGENS
Depending on your source of drinking water some pathogens may be more or less present. Probably you are familiar with the thin, slimy biofilm that occurs on the wall of your bottle or glass when you keep the water in it standing still for over a week. That biofilm is the ideal ground for bacteria and viruses to flourish and it is present in all water systems.
Below you will find an overview of all pathogens that have frequently occurred in the drinking water. Secondly we have summarized the places of use and sources of drinking water to determine whether or not disinfection is advised.
Legionella
Bacteria
The most common and known bacteria to infect drinking water are:
Legionella (CDC)
Shigella (CDC)
Campylobacter (CDC)
Salmonella (CDC)
Escherichia coli [aka E. coli] (CDC)
Campylobacter (CDC)
Nontuberculous Mycobacteria [aka NTM] (CDC)
Pseudomonas (CDC)
Click on the name of the institutes name to learn more about the bacteria and the diseases it can cause and how to prevent or treat this.
Norovirus
Viruses
The most common and known viruses to infect drinking water are:
Click on the name of the institutes to learn more about the viruses and the diseases it can cause and how to prevent or treat this.
COVID-19 is - so far - not detected in drinking water according various governmental resources. yet the existing disinfection methods that are known to kill viruses, will likely extinguish any present COVID-19 in the water.
INFLUENZA is not detected in drinking water according our resources.
Giardia
Protozoa
The most common and known Protozoa (or parasites) to be found in drinking water are:
Click on the name of the institutes name to learn more about the bacteria and the diseases it can cause and how to prevent or treat this.
As these parasites are mainly coming from human and animals faeces, it is easier to prevent this risk by having a water source that isn’t contaminated by faeces. As the Protozoa have a thicker skin, it is harder to treat them with Chlorine, UV or Ozone, since they need more and longer exposure to be killed. Since they are bigger than the other pathogens, the easiest method to remove Protozoa is to use a filtration system capable of filtering at least 5 micron.
In the following situations water disinfection is advised:
DEVELOPED COUNTRIES
In general the public drinking water quality in most developed countries is very good and no treatment systems at home or manual systems are needed. Yet, in some cases the good quality of drinking water may result in the fact that you need treatment afterwards. Since there is no chlorine added to the public drinking water, and if water is kept in certain conditions you may end up having viruses and bacteria growing in the biofilm which are present in all water-systems.
The first situation is when you have water temperatures reaching more than 20 degrees and you have a water storage facility -this can be as simple as the piping in your home, it does not necessarily need to be a water tank - it is recommended to treat your water, as the bacteria and viruses (non-dangerous levels) are known to be present in the biofilm of the water works. Examples of use are in holiday homes, guest houses, campers, yachting, etc.
The second case where water treatment comes in is when the water is heated, but not guaranteed to stay over 55 degrees Celsius (131 degrees Fahrenheit) until the point of use. In that case pathogens may have a perfect place to flourish and water disinfection is advised. The most common places to have water disinfection is in large buildings where the heating takes place far away from the water tap, or with heat pump systems that warm the water to a maximum 40-45 degrees, places of use are hotels, harbours, sports facilities and (large) homes or businesses. Specifically homes where heat pumps are used for Water heating.
Thirdly, if you are by law obliged to treat the water that is being used at your business. See the Drinking Water Directive of the EU.
EMERGENCIES
After an emergency, when water facilities are down or piping is damaged and water resources got contaminated, etcetera. It is strongly advised to use a water disinfection method to treat the drinking water.
DEVELOPING COUNTRIES
In developing countries it is generally recommended to treat your drinking water before using.
Even when the water is chlorinated at the factory it can be that the water gets contaminated in the public waterworks or when you’re too far away from the waterplant that the added chlorination is used up and water treatment still is needed.
Secondly in countries that have power outages, which cause the factory disinfection systems to stop working (even though when you still have water pressure). In this example you need to have your own water supply disinfection.
PRIVATE WATER SOURCES
When you’re using rain water, well-water, or surface water as a source for drinking water or when you have a secondary grey water system, it is strongly recommended to treat your water before using it.
Whereas using is: drinking, food preparing, showering or flushing the toilet, (fishing) ponds, swimming pools, watering the garden. As some viruses / bacteria can get airborne, it is strongly advised to treat your drinking water before using, even when you are not planning on drinking the water.
The treatment that is strongly advised is having a filtration-unit first to remove the particles, chemicals and Protozoa that may be present in the water and secondly to have disinfection-unit to remove all other pathogens.
DISCLAIMER: To create this webpage of information, we used the freely available information provided by the WHO, CDC, RIVM and other renowned institutes, yet we cannot be held responsible for any of the information presented, as it is not our research. We simply advice you to disinfect your drinking water if there is any doubt about the quality.