Elimination of micro-organisms by drinking water treatment processes (third edition 2007)

The Dutch Drinking Water Decree prescribes that drinking water companies should demonstrate that their drinking water is microbiologically safe by performing a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). The required level of safety is a risk of infection of 10-4 per person per year. Such a QMRA requires knowledge about (i) the concentration of pathogens in source water and (ii) the efficacy of water treatment to eliminate these pathogens. Consequently, there is a need for a scientific database with the elimination capacity of all relevant processes used in drinking water treatment for viruses, bacteria and pathogenic protozoa. In the joint research program of the Dutch Drinking water Companies (BTO-programme) a project was defined to create such a database.
The Dutch Drinking Water Decree prescribes that drinking water companies should demonstrate that their drinking water is microbiologically safe by performing a quantitative microbial risk assessment (QMRA). The required level of safety is a risk of infection of 10-4 per person per year. Such a QMRA requires knowledge about (i) the concentration of pathogens in source water and (ii) the efficacy of water treatment to eliminate these pathogens. Consequently, there is a need for a scientific database with the elimination capacity of all relevant processes used in drinking water treatment for viruses, bacteria and pathogenic protozoa. In the joint research program of the Dutch Drinking water Companies (BTO-programme) a project was defined to create such a database.