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Molecular analysis of bacterial community in the tap water with different water ages of a drinking water distribution system

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Abstract

Bacterial community in the drinking water distribution system (DWDS) was regulated by multiple environmental factors, many of which varied as a function of water age. In this study, four water samples with different water ages, including finished water (FW, 0 d) and tap water (TW) [TW1 (1 d), TW2(2 d) and TW3(3 d)], were collected along with the mains of a practical DWDS, and the bacterial community was investigated by high-throughput sequencing technique. Results indicated that the residual chlorine declined with the increase of water age, accompanied by the increase of dissolved organic matter, total bacteria counts and bacterial diversity (Shannon). For bacterial community composition, although Proteobacteria phylum (84.12%-97.6%) and Alphaproteobacteria class (67.42%-93.09%) kept dominate, an evident regular was observed at the order level. In detail, the relative abundance of most of other residual orders increased with different degrees from the start to the end of the DWDS, while a downward trend was uniquely observed in terms of Rhizobiales, who was inferred to be chlorine-resistant and be helpful for inhibiting pipes corrosion. Moreover, some OTUs were found to be closely related with species possessing pathogenicity and chlorine-resistant ability, so it was recommended that the use of agents other than chlorine or agents that can act synergically with chlorine should be developed for drinking water disinfection. This paper revealed bacterial community variations along the mains of the DWDS and the result was helpful for understanding bacterial ecology in the DWDS.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by China’s National Critical Project for Science and Technology on Water Pollution Prevention and Control (Nos. 2017ZX07201-001 & 2017ZX07403-002), Research on Security Insurance for Directly Drinking Water Projecct of Chuanli (No. CDCL201501).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Institute of Water Environment Technology, MCC Huatian Engineering and Technology Corporation, Nanjing, 210019, China

    Feng Wang

  2. State Key Laboratory of Pollution Control and Resource Reuse, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Weiying Li, Yue Li, Junpeng Zhang, Jiping Chen & Xuan Wu

  3. College of Environmental Science and Engineering, Tongji University, Shanghai, 200092, China

    Weiying Li, Yue Li, Junpeng Zhang, Jiping Chen & Xuan Wu

  4. Chengdu Chuanli Intelligence Fuild Equipment Co. Ltd, Chengdu, 611500, China

    Wei Zhang

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  1. Feng Wang
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  2. Weiying Li
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  3. Yue Li
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  6. Wei Zhang
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Correspondence to Weiying Li.

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Wang, F., Li, W., Li, Y. et al. Molecular analysis of bacterial community in the tap water with different water ages of a drinking water distribution system. Front. Environ. Sci. Eng. 12, 6 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1020-4

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  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s11783-018-1020-4

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