REAL-TIME, ON-LINE MONITORING OF DRINKING WATER FOR WATERBORNE PATHOGEN CONTAMINATION WARNING

Abstract

The increasing value of safe, purified water in today's global environment presents many challenges for improving water purification processes while accelerating water quality monitoring technologies. These challenges include: escalating worldwide security threats, increasing demands by consumers and regulatory agencies for higher water quality standards, and proliferation of contamination events. A major concern in protecting water purity is the detection and control of harmful microorganisms in water sources, treatment, and distribution. Due to the length of time for standard laboratory methods to yield results, typically 24-72 hours, current analytical techniques have not been able to reliably detect microorganisms in real time and provide an immediate warning of biological contamination. Through years of research and development, an emerging technology called MALS (multi-angle light scattering) can now achieve on line, real time detection and classification of microorganisms in water. The method utilizes a laser beam focused into a slip-stream of water and the light scattered by microorganisms generates unique patterns. These “bio-optical signatures” are instantaneously captured by photodetectors, matched against catalogue profiles in an on-board data base, and subsequently classified within minutes of detection. The system can then immediately alert personnel to the contamination event while extracting a water sample for further confirmation.