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Modeling Bacterial Growth in Drinking Water: Effect of Nutrients
Author(s) -
Jegatheesan Veeriah,
Kastl George,
Fisher Ian,
Chandy Joseph,
Angles Mark
Publication year - 2004
Publication title -
journal ‐ american water works association
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 0.466
H-Index - 74
eISSN - 1551-8833
pISSN - 0003-150X
DOI - 10.1002/j.1551-8833.2004.tb10634.x
Subject(s) - nutrient , water quality , bacterial growth , environmental science , total organic carbon , heterotroph , raw water , population , water treatment , bacteria , dissolved organic carbon , phosphorus , environmental engineering , environmental chemistry , chemistry , ecology , biology , genetics , demography , organic chemistry , sociology
This article presents a model of growth of naturally occurring heterotrophic bacteria in the bulk water phase in the absence of disinfectant. The model considers growth with carbon, phosphorus, and nitrogen balance, death and lysis of bacteria, and conversion of less biodegradable organic carbon to assimilable organic carbon. Experimental data from two raw and two treated waters were used to test the model. The model describes the increase of live and dead bacterial cells in the water phase, and its output closely matches the experimental data. Such a model has the ability to characterize water nutrient status as well as to predict behavior of indigenous heterotrophic bacteria. The ability to predict bacterial population dynamics with respect to nutrients is beneficial for water treatment optimization. The model, based on microbiological measurements, helps to characterize treated water quality and project performance in terms of water quality into a distribution system.