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Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system
Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2018.
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| Format: | Thesis |
| Language: | English |
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2026
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| _version_ | 1867613599843745792 |
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| access_status_str | Open Access |
| author2 | Venter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas) |
| author_browse | Venter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas) |
| author_facet | Venter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas) |
| collection | Thesis |
| description | Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2018. |
| format | Thesis |
| id | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110015 |
| institution | University of Pretoria (South Africa) |
| language | English |
| last_indexed | 2026-06-10T12:38:42.927Z |
| license_str | Not specified — see source repository |
| provenance_str_mv | Harvested via OAI-PMH from UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| publishDate | 2026 |
| publishDateRange | 2026 |
| publishDateSort | 2026 |
| record_format | dspace |
| source_str | UPSpace — University of Pretoria Institutional Repository |
| spelling | oai:repository.up.ac.za:2263/110015 Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system Venter, S.N. (Stephanus Nicolaas) minettecrous@gmail.com Crous, Minette Drinking water Microbial community Impact on community Microbial dynamics Ecology Dissertation (MSc (Microbiology))--University of Pretoria, 2018. It has been reported in a number of studies that the quality of drinking water is impacted by the microorganisms. The microbial community in turn is affected by a combination of environmental, physical and chemical factors. The aim of this study was to investigate the spatial and temporal changes in the microbial communities in both the rapid sand filters and distribution network of a large-scale drinking water distribution system in South Africa. These findings will be compared to a similar study recently completed on a similar system in the same area. To better understand the dynamics of microbial communities in drinking water, 16S rRNA gene profiling and statistical analyses were applied to determine the influence of spatial and temporal factors on microbial community structure and composition. The findings of this study revealed that the microbial community found in the sand filters were spatially homogeneous, i.e. the microbial community structure and membership were similar (i) across the surface of a single filter bed, (ii) across the surface of different filter beds and (iii) along the depth of a single filter bed. The microbial community structure and membership was dissimilar between months, indicating that the microbial community harboured in the rapid sand filters may be shaped mainly by temporal changes. This spatial homogeneity may be attributed to the backwashing regime, which is applied to clean the rapid sand filters. In contrast, the microbial iii communities were dissimilar in structure and membership when different sampling points were compared. This suggested that the treatment processes, i.e. sand filtration and especially the disinfection regime may substantially alter the microbial communities. This study provides insight on microbial communities in drinking water and the influence of conventional treatment regimes on community structure. Obtaining more information on how various treatment regimes, e.g. chlorine and chloramine, and physicochemical factors, e.g. temperature and the concentration of total organic compounds, affect the microbial membership and structure within drinking water is important. Doing this can aid in improving management decision and operational procedures in order to maintain the water quality at a level which is safe for water consumption and usage. Microbiology and Plant Pathology MSc (Microbiology) 2026-05-15T17:26:04Z 2026-05-15T17:26:04Z 18/07/30 2018 Dissertation http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110015 en application/pdf |
| spellingShingle | Drinking water Microbial community Impact on community Microbial dynamics Ecology Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title | Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title_full | Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title_fullStr | Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title_full_unstemmed | Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title_short | Microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| title_sort | microbial community dynamics in a large drinking water treatment and distribution system |
| topic | Drinking water Microbial community Impact on community Microbial dynamics Ecology |
| url | http://hdl.handle.net/2263/110015 |