Guest Editor:
Dr. Günter Gunkel
Senior Scientist of Limnology
INWERT Institute for Biological Drinking Water Quality,
45721 Haltern am See, Germany
guenter.gunkel@ water-qualitycontrol.de
Evaluation of Invertebrates in Drinking Water Networks
Drinking water quality is threatened by raw water contamination as well as by the insufficient biological water stability during distribution in the drinking water networks. This includes the outflow of organic carbon (DOC, organisms) and methane from the water treatment plants and the growth of biofilm and, of high significance, the development of a pipe invertebrate community. Most of the pipe inhabitants found in drinking water systems are typical freshwater organisms that do not occur in raw water are also therefore not typical for drinking water treatment filters. Harmful species are water lice, snails, chironomids, worms (oligochaetes, nematodes), water fleas, ciliates, and naked amoebae, among others. Frequency of macroinvertebrate introduction into drinking water networks is rare; the main problem is growth, propagation and mass development of introduced species. Raw water quality, drinking water treatment, food sources for pipe network inhabitants, growth and life cycle of the pipe inhabitants, and propagation within a drinking water distribution system (DWDS) are of high significance for any advanced DWDS management.
Knowledge about this invertebrate community in drinking water networks is still scarce, and challenges and focus of this Special Issue
are
- (interaction of raw water quality or drinking water treatment and the development of DWDS inhabitants,
- detection of the pipe inhabitants by hydrant sampling or eDNA,
- experiences with pipe flushing,
- food sources for invertebrates in DWDSs,
- population dynamic analyses to determine growth, life cycle, and fertility of the species,
- evaluation of harmful effects and health risks of DWDS inhabitants,
- interaction of invertebrates and harmful microbe growth,
- development of target limiting values for DWDS inhabitants,
- development of targeted pipe flushing methods for the discharge of invertebrates, and
- development of an adapted pipe management for sustainable control of regrowth of pipe inhabitants.
In many countries, the diversity and density of the DWDS invertebrate community is increasing due to increasing water temperature (climate change effect), decreasing water consumption (oversized pipes), and aging water pipes; more frequent problems with harmful microbes (e.g. Pseudomonas aeruginosa, environmental coliforms) are observed.
Deadline for manuscript submissions: 31 October 2022
More information about the Special Issue
https://www.mdpi.com/journal/water/special_issues/drinking_water_networks
WATER an Open Access Journal by MDPI