Applications of Emerging Technologies in the Drinking Water Sector - Waterborne Pathogens: Detection Methods and Applications - page 358

If these extend beyond requirements and will merely highlight potential
problems, water companies might not be interested until the regulator
enforces adoption of improved methods.
In terms of opportunities for the development of new testing systems
and treatment procedures, one of the major drivers is likely to be unit cost
of testing. Another driver is an increasing interest in direct detection of
pathogens, i.e. moving away from the general fecal indicator monitoring to
look specifically at the presence of particular pathogens, and perhaps even
particular species. Another factor is availability of samples in volume. The
need to concentrate samples to ensure a sufficiently high number of patho-
gens are present for effective testing can be time-consuming, expensive in
terms of both manpower and materials and is not always practical.
Once a technique has been tested and proven, the problems for the
technology innovator are still not over. Convincing the appropriate national
regulator/water industry that the new test or treatment procedure is at least
as good as that used currently can often be a lengthy process. Validation
studies are likely to be required and will need to demonstrate good per-
formance of the new method over a time period of at least a few months.
Additionally, validation with different tap waters is likely to be an important
part of this process, demonstrating the method is reliable despite a range of
input conditions. Conducting such studies is likely to prove challenging for
many companies looking to enter the water market. The development of
water innovation parks could be one key way to enable small businesses to
trial new technologies, and assist in overcoming this barrier.
11.7.1. Future trends
11.7.1.1. Potential developments of pathogen detection and removal
systems
Chlorination has been most commonly used to disinfect drinking water in
the past due to its low cost, the fact it is harmless to humans in the concen-
trations used and the fact it also helps to protect the networks of pipes it
travels through. 52 However, for smaller or more rural locations in the UK
the use of UV disinfection is becoming more widespread. UV disinfection
is becoming increasingly more important within water treatment and has
the opportunity to be expanded at a global scale. A white paper published
by Siemens in 2008 demonstrates the market for UV is a substantial growth
area in the water treatment market worth around $500 million globally. The
market for UV is also predicted to grow by 10% for industrial, commercial
and residential waters, and by up to 15 or 20% for municipal and wastewater