Engineering a stable water microbiome in direct potable reuse distribution systems

在直接饮用水再利用分配系统中设计稳定的水微生物组

• 批准号: 1804118
• 负责人: Kara Nelson
• 金额: $ 33.97万
• 依托单位: University of California-Berkeley
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Standard Grant
• 财政年份: 2018
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2018-09-01 至 2024-08-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=1804118&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Engineering; stable; water; microbiome; direct

Many cities face growing water scarcity. In response, these cities are developing innovative strategies to tap into alternative local sources of drinking water. One promising local source is treated wastewater that can be purified through advanced treatment processes. Like desalinated seawater, this purified water is also missing a natural community of bacteria that is present in all other drinking water sources. A lack of natural bacteria in purified water could provide an opportunity for unhealthy bacteria to grow. This study will compare the stability of bacteria in purified drinking water from seawater desalination to bacteria in water from traditional water sources. Additionally, the study will conduct laboratory tests to determine whether deliberately adding benign bacteria to purified wastewater can prevent instability of bacterial communities like those found in water infrastructure. The findings of this work will help engineers plan for the safe distribution of highly purified water to protect the public and help secure the Nation's water supply. The research will broaden participation in engineering by providing opportunities for research and career advancement for underrepresented students. The advanced treatment of wastewater for direct potable reuse (DPR) generates extremely pure water. While the chemical conditioning of DPR water to prevent pipe corrosion is already under study, little work has investigated the potential impacts of DPR on the microbiology of drinking water distribution systems (DWDS). All DWDS harbor biofilms, and the addition of DPR water containing few cells may create biological instability and the potential for growth of opportunistic pathogens. Inoculating water with benign microorganisms via seeding may be effective for decreasing microbial risks in the DWDS. This study will examine whether deliberately seeding advanced treated water with a filter media-derived microbial community results in a more stable distribution system microbiome. The scientific objectives are to: 1) survey full-scale distribution systems in the U.S. to examine current biostability; 2) compare the microbial communities of two current systems, one conventional and one that uses RO-treated water, during distribution; 3) characterize changes to the microbial communities of mock-distribution systems during the introduction of blended conventional water and DPR water that is either microbially seeded or unseeded; and 4) examine the effect of disinfectant residual concentrations on the microbiome in seeded and unseeded mock-distribution systems. This study will use flow cytometry-based cell counting coupled to molecular methods, including amplicon and metagenomic sequencing, to observe microbiological changes in the full-scale and mock drinking water distribution systems. This study will provide insight into theoretical microbial ecology, the water microbiome, and produce valuable information to improve the design and operation of advanced treatment plants for direct potable reuse.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.

许多城市面临日益严重的水资源短缺。 作为回应，这些城市正在制定创新战略，以利用替代的当地饮用水源。 一个有前途的当地来源是经过处理的废水，可以通过先进的处理工艺进行净化。 像淡化海水一样，这种纯净水也缺少所有其他饮用水源中存在的天然细菌群落。 纯净水中缺乏天然细菌可能会为不健康的细菌提供生长的机会。本研究将比较海水淡化净化饮用水和传统水源水中细菌的稳定性。 此外，该研究将进行实验室测试，以确定是否故意向净化废水中添加良性细菌可以防止细菌群落的不稳定性，如在水基础设施中发现的细菌群落。这项工作的结果将帮助工程师计划安全分配高纯度水，以保护公众，并帮助确保国家的供水。这项研究将通过为代表性不足的学生提供研究和职业发展的机会来扩大对工程的参与。用于直接饮用水再利用（DPR）的废水深度处理产生极纯净的水。虽然DPR水的化学调节，以防止管道腐蚀已经在研究中，很少有工作调查DPR对饮用水分配系统（DWDS）的微生物学的潜在影响。所有DWDS都具有生物膜，添加含有少量细胞的DPR水可能会产生生物不稳定性和机会致病菌生长的可能性。通过接种用良性微生物接种水可能有效地降低DWDS中的微生物风险。这项研究将研究是否故意播种先进的处理水与过滤介质衍生的微生物群落的结果在一个更稳定的分配系统微生物组。科学目标是：1）调查美国的全规模分配系统，以检查当前的生物稳定性; 2）比较两个当前系统的微生物群落，一个是传统的，一个是使用RO处理过的水，在分配过程中; 3）表征模拟的微生物群落的变化，在引入混合的常规水和DPR水期间的分配系统，所述DPR水是微生物接种的或未接种的;和4）检查消毒剂残留浓度对接种和未接种模拟分布系统中微生物组的影响。本研究将使用基于流式细胞术的细胞计数结合分子方法，包括扩增子和宏基因组测序，观察全尺寸和模拟饮用水分配系统中的微生物变化。这项研究将提供深入了解理论微生物生态学，水微生物组，并产生有价值的信息，以改善直接饮用水再利用的高级处理厂的设计和运行。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并已被认为是值得通过使用基金会的智力价值和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估的支持。