Heterotrophic Plate Counts And Drinking Water Safety

This text prepared by an international group of experts addresses the 'heterotrophic plate count' test which is widely used in drinking-water assessment: what it detects (and what it does not detect) its direct and indirect health significance and its use in the safety management of drinking water supplies. It includes the consensus statement from an expert review meeting and takes account of the presentations and posters at an international conference on the theme co-sponsored by WHO and NSF-International. It provides valuable information on the utility and the limitations of HPC data in the management and operation of piped water systems as well as other means of providing drinking water to the public. It is of particular value to piped public water suppliers and bottled water suppliers manufacturers and users of water treatment and transmission equipment and inline treatment devices water engineers sanitary and clinical microbiologists and national and local public health officials and regulators of drinking water quality. ...The book will be of great value to the piped public water suppliers bottled water suppliers manufacturers users of water treatment and transmission equipment and online treatment device makers water supply engineers sanitary engineers clinical and water microbiologists national and local public health officials and regulators of drinking-water quality. - Indian Journal of Medical Research

Heterotrophic Plate Counts and Drinking-water Safety provides a critical assessment of the role of the Heterotrophic Plate Count (HPC) measurement in drinking water quality management. It was developed from an Expert workshop of 32 scientists convened by the World Health Organization and the WHO/NSF International Collaborating Centre for Drinking Water Safety and Treatment in Geneva, Switzerland. Heterotrophs are organisms, including bacteria, yeasts and moulds, that require an external source of organic carbon for growth. The HPC test (or Standard Plate Count), applied in many variants, is the internationally accepted test for measuring the hetrotrophic microorganism population in drinking water, and also other media. It measures only a fraction of the microorganisms actually present and does not distinguish between pathogens and non-pathogens. High levels of microbial growth can affect the taste and odor of drinking water and may indicate the presence of nutrients and biofilms which could harbor pathogens, as well as the possibility that some event has interfered with the normal production of the drinking water. HPC counts also routinely increase in water that has been treated by an in-line device such as a carbon filter or softener, in water-dispensing devices and in bottled waters and indeed in all water that has suitable nutrients, does not have a residual disinfectant, and is kept under sufficient conditions. There is debate among health professionals as to the need, utility or quantitative basis for health-based standards or guidelines relating to HPC-measured regrowth in drinking water. The issues that were addressed in this work include: the relationship between HPC in drinking water (including that derived from in-line treatment systems, dispensers and bottled water) and health risks for the general public the role of HPC as an indirect indicator or index for pathogens of concern in drinking water the role of HPC in assessing the efficacy and proper functioning of water treatment and supply processes the relationship between HPC and the aesthetic acceptability of drinking water. Heterotrophic Plate Counts and Drinking-water Safety provides valuable information on the utility and the limitations of HPC data in the management and operation of piped water systems as well as other means of providing drinking water to the public. It is of particular value to piped public water suppliers and bottled water suppliers, manufacturers and users of water treatment and transmission equipment and inline treatment devices, water engineers, sanitary and clinical microbiologists, and national and local public health officials and regulators of drinking water quality.

The book addresses the interdisciplinary area of water quality monitoring and binds together interests and competences within sensing technology, system behaviour, business needs, legislation, education, data handling, and artificial response algorithms.

This book is a hard copy of the editorial and all the papers in a Special Issue of the peer-reviewed open access journal ‘Water’ on the theme ‘Managed Aquifer Recharge for Water Resilience’. Managed aquifer recharge (MAR) is the purposeful recharge of water to aquifers for subsequent recovery or environmental benefit. MAR is increasingly used to make water supplies resilient to drought, climate change and deteriorating water quality, and to protect ecosystems from declining groundwater levels. Global MAR has grown exponentially to 10 cu.km/year and will increase ten-fold within a few decades. Well informed hydrogeologists, engineers and water quality scientists are needed to ensure that this investment is effective in meeting increasingly pressing needs. This compilation contains lessons from many examples of existing projects, including several national and continental summaries. It also addresses the elements essential for identifying and advancing projects such as mapping aquifer suitability and opportunities, policy matters, operational issues, and some innovations in MAR methods and monitoring. This collection exemplifies the state of progress in the science and practice of MAR and is intended to be useful, at least to water managers, water utilities, agricultural water users and urban planners, to facilitate water resilience through new MAR projects.

The fourth edition incorporating the first and second addenda, of the World Health Organization's (WHO) Guidelines for drinking-water quality (GDWQ) builds on over 60 years of guidance by WHO on drinking-water quality, which has formed an authoritative basis for the setting of national regulations and standards for water safety in support of public health. It is the product of significant revisions to clarify and elaborate on ways of implementing its recommendations of contextual hazard identification and risk management, through the establishment of health-based targets, catchment-to-consumer water safety plans and independent surveillance. Updates in this latest edition reflect new evidence and further, provides additional explanations to support better understanding and application of the guidance. More details on the updates are included in the GDWQ preface.

With the world’s growing population, the provision of a safe, nutritious and wholesome food supply for all has become a major challenge. To achieve this, effective risk management based on sound science and unbiased information is required by all stakeholders, including the food industry, governments and consumers themselves. In addition, the globalization of the food supply requires the harmonization of policies and standards based on a common understanding of food safety among authorities in countries around the world. With some 280 chapters, the Encyclopedia of Food Safety provides unbiased and concise overviews which form in total a comprehensive coverage of a broad range of food safety topics, which may be grouped under the following general categories: History and basic sciences that support food safety; Foodborne diseases, including surveillance and investigation; Foodborne hazards, including microbiological and chemical agents; Substances added to food, both directly and indirectly; Food technologies, including the latest developments; Food commodities, including their potential hazards and controls; Food safety management systems, including their elements and the roles of stakeholders. The Encyclopedia provides a platform for experts from the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment to share and learn from state-of-the art expertise with the rest of the food safety community. Assembled with the objective of facilitating the work of those working in the field of food safety and related fields, such as nutrition, food science and technology and environment - this work covers the entire spectrum of food safety topics into one comprehensive reference work The Editors have made every effort to ensure that this work meets strict quality and pedagogical thresholds such as: contributions by the foremost authorities in their fields; unbiased and concise overviews on a multitude of food safety subjects; references for further information, and specialized and general definitions for food safety terminology In maintaining confidence in the safety of the food supply, sound scientific information is key to effectively and efficiently assessing, managing and communicating on food safety risks. Yet, professionals and other specialists working in this multidisciplinary field are finding it increasingly difficult to keep up with developments outside their immediate areas of expertise. This single source of concise, reliable and authoritative information on food safety has, more than ever, become a necessity