The Relationship between Water Biostability and Initial Bacterial Growth Variations to Different Organic Carbon Concentrations

Water biostability is a major concern in water distribution system due to health risk. The conventional parameters are usually time-consuming and do not provide rapid results allowing for immediate action. Instead of measuring the final bacterial growth in water samples to reflect water biostability, the initial variations of bacterial growth by measuring ATP (Adenosine Triphosphate) in a series of diluted water samples were analysed in this study. The standard deviations and maximum variation ranges of bacterial growth to different AOC (Assimilable Organic Carbon) concentrations were individually compared. Results showed that standard deviations and maximum variation ranges of bacterial growth in water samples below a fixed AOC concentration were larger than those with higher AOC concentrations.