Impact of Water Chemistry, Pipe Material and Stagnation on the Building Plumbing Microbiome

Abstract

A unique microbiome establishes in the portion of the potable water distribution system within homes and other buildings (i.e., building plumbing). To examine its composition and the factors that shape it, standardized cold water plumbing rigs were deployed at the treatment plant and in the distribution system of five water utilities across the U.S. Three pipe materials (copper with lead solder, CPVC with brass fittings or copper/lead combined pipe) were compared, with 8 hour flush cycles of 10 minutes to simulate typical daily use patterns. High throughput Illumina sequencing of 16S rRNA gene amplicons was employed to profile and compare the resident bulk water bacteria and archaea. The utility, location of the pipe rig, pipe material and stagnation all had a significant influence on the plumbing microbiome composition, but the utility source water and treatment practices were dominant factors. Examination of 21 water chemistry parameters suggested that the total chlorine concentration, pH, P, SO4 2- and Mg were associated with the most of the variation in bulk water microbiome composition. Disinfectant type exerted a notably low-magnitude impact on microbiome composition. At two utilities using the same source water, slight differences in treatment approaches were associated with differences in rare taxa in samples. For genera containing opportunistic pathogens, Utility C samples (highest pH of 9–10) had the highest frequency of detection for Legionella spp. and lowest relative abundance of Mycobacterium spp. Data were examined across utilities to identify a true universal core, special core, and peripheral organisms to deepen insight into the physical and chemical factors that shape the building plumbing microbiome.

Bacterial community changes in copper and PEX drinking water pipeline biofilms under extra disinfection and magnetic water treatment

“…; Ji et al . ). However, the impact of the material may be less intense than other studied parameters such as utility in full‐scale distribution system waters (Ji et al .…”

“…However, the impact of the material may be less intense than other studied parameters such as utility in full‐scale distribution system waters (Ji et al . ). In our pilot scale study, the control copper and PEX materials showed similar composition within the most abundant bacterial groups, confirming our earlier findings from the full‐scale system of the same building (Inkinen et al .…”

“…raw source water, water treatment and distribution process) on the water distribution system microbiome, which is in agreement with other studies (Ji et al . ; Roeselers et al . ).…”

Methodological approaches for monitoring opportunistic pathogens in premise plumbing: A review

“…High throughput sequencing is a powerful tool for understanding the microbial ecology of premise plumbing, revealing diverse microbial community compositions in drinking water distribution systems across the globe (Chao et al, 2015; Delafont et al, 2014; Hong et al, 2010; Ji et al, 2015). A typical procedure for drinking water microbiome investigation includes application of universal primers targeting 16S rRNA genes for DNA amplification followed by high throughput sequencing, the result of which could demonstrate the presence or absence of genera containing potential OPPPs (Delafont et al, 2014; Gomez-Smith et al, 2015; Ji et al, 2015; Wang et al, 2013). Reported abundances of sequences belonging to these genera varied considerably across different samples.…”

Characterization of the core microbiome in tobacco leaves during aging

“…The core microbiome is considered to be a key component of the basic function of the holobionts, which is enriched, selected, and inherited through evolutionary processes (Lemanceau, Blouin, Muller, & Moënne-Loccoz, 2017). The core microbiomes are commonly used to reveal microbial species that are closely related to the health, growth, and physiology of the host plant and are currently widely used to describe the key species in human, soil, plant, lake, and wastewater treatment system (Chen, Wu, et al, 2018;Chen, Li, et al, 2018;Ji, Parks, Edwards, & Pruden, 2015;Turnbaugh et al, 2007;Zarraonaindia et al, 2015). However, the core microbiomes and their function in the tobacco aging process still remain to be elucidated.…”