Disruptive effects of sewage intrusion into drinking water
Microbial succession and organic transformation at molecular level
Mengqing Fan (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Anran Ren (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Mingchen Yao (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Xiaoming Li (Chinese Academy of Sciences)
Walter van der Meer (University of Twente, Oasen)
Guo Yu (Guilin University of Technology)
Gertjan Medema (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences, KWR Water Research Institute)
Joan Rose (Michigan State University)
Gang Liu (TU Delft - Civil Engineering & Geosciences, Chinese Academy of Sciences)
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Abstract
Drinking water distribution systems are increasingly vulnerable to sewage intrusion due to aging water infrastructure and intensifying water stress. While the health risks associated with sewage intrusion have been extensively studied, little is known about the impacts of intruded bacteria and dissolved organic matter (DOM) on microbiology in drinking water. In this dynamic study, we demonstrate that the intrusion of 1 % sewage into tap water resulted in immediate contamination, including an 8-fold increase in biomass (TCC), a 48.9 % increase in bacterial species (ASVs), a 12.5 % increase in organic carbon content (DOC), and a 13.5 % increase in unique DOM molecular formulae. Over time, sewage intrusion altered tap water microbiology by accelerating bacterial growth rates (5-fold faster), selectively promoting ASVs in community succession, and producing 998 more unique DOM formulae. More significantly, statistical analysis revealed that the intrusion of 1 % sewage shifted the driving force of bacterial and DOM composition covariance from a DOM-dependent process in tap water to a bacterial-governed process post-intrusion. Our results clearly demonstrate the disruptive effects of sewage intrusion into tap water, emphasizing the urgent need to consider the long-lasting impacts of sewage intrusion in drinking water distribution systems, in addition to its immediate health risks.
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