(Montana State University - Bozeman, College of Engineering, 2007) Bauman, Wesley James; Chairperson, Graduate Committee: Anne Camper
The inadvertent or deliberate introduction of bacterial pathogens into drinking water systems can lead to serious public health consequences. As a result, rapid sampling opportunities within distribution systems are needed that can provide information on the source, species and fate of introduced pathogens. In this study, a porous media biofilm reactor was used to investigate the ability of an established mixed-species drinking water biofilm to immobilize cyan-labeled Escherichia coli 0157:H7 as a model pathogen. Test reactors were colonized with biofilm for two or three weeks at 0.5 mg/l C, resulting in the formation of thin and thick biofilms, respectively. Colonized reactors were then injected with slug doses of approximately 1 x 109 cfu E. coli O157:H7. Plate counts were able to successfully close a mass balance on E. coli O157:H7 around the reactor and were used measure the fractions of inocula immobilized within reactors. Compared with control reactors (0.22%), reactors colonized for two or three weeks immobilized significantly more cells (0.75% and 9.37% respectively).
