Environmental Engineering Reference
In-Depth Information
pathogens) and has no accompanying offensive characteristics, such as a foul
taste or odor. To accomplish this, the drinking water practitioner must pos-
sess a wide range of knowledge. In short, to correctly examine raw water for
pathogenic microorganisms and to determine the type of treatment neces-
sary to ensure that the quality of the end product—potable water—meets
regulatory standards, in addition to accomplishing all the other myriad
requirements involved in drinking water processing, the drinking water
practitioner must be a combination specialist/generalist.
In the next three chapters, we concentrate on the microbiological parame-
ters (this chapter), physical parameters (
Chapter 7
), and chemical parameters
(
Chapter 8
) that drinking water practitioners must know. As a generalist, the
water practitioner requires a great deal of knowledge and skill to understand
the “big picture,” so to speak. At the same time, drinking water practitioners
must fine-tune their abilities to a narrow range of focus—a focus that can be
zeroed in on a single target within a broad field.
A practitioner whose narrowly focused specialty is not water microbiol-
ogy must at least have enough knowledge in biological science to enable
full comprehension of the fundamental factors concerning microorganisms
and their relationships to one another, their effect on the treatment process,
and their impact on the environment, human beings, and other organisms.
The drinking water practitioner as a generalist must understand the impor-
tance of microbiological parameters and what they indicate—the potential of
waterborne disease. Microbiological contaminants are associated with unde-
sirable tastes and odors and are considered generators of treatment prob-
lems in drinking water technology (algae and fungi, for example), and they
are important enough to the practitioner that knowledge of them is essen-
tial. This chapter provides fundamental knowledge of water biology for the
water practitioner (primarily for the generalist).
Microbiology: What Is It?
Biology is generally defined as the study of living organisms (i.e., the study
of life).
Microbiology
is a branch of biology that deals with the study of micro-
organisms so small in size that they must be studied under a microscope.
Microorganisms of interest to the water and wastewater operator include
bacteria, protozoa, viruses, and algae, among others.
Classification of Organisms
For centuries, scientists classified the forms of life visible to the naked eye as
either animal or plant. Much of the current knowledge about living things
was organized by the Swedish naturalist Carolus Linnaeus in 1735. The
