Are Residual Disinfectants Really Crucial To Clean Water

Are residual disinfectants essential for making tap water safe?

A handful of scientists recently examined this question, publishing their findings in the journal Science . They explained that the U.S. requires residual disinfectants, but many countries do not.

Medical Daily summarized the approach in this study: “Seeking to compare the different approaches, Dr. Fernando Rosario-Ortiz, UC Bolder, and his colleagues examined waterborne outbreak data from the Netherlands, the U.K., and the U.S. in recent years. The Netherlands, despite a lack of residual disinfectants, has the lowest risk of waterborne disease, Rosario-Ortiz and his colleagues discovered,” the report said.

The upshot? The findings may present another reason the U.S. should invest more heavily in water infrastructure.

“The comparison of the rates of replacement of water carrying infrastructure and the rates of disease outbreaks related to water purity has shown that the use of chlorine is not as much of a factor as the state of repair of the infrastructure in water delivery and purification systems,” Examiner.com explained.

The authors conclude that it is possible to offer safe tap water without residual disinfectants. They argue that infrastructure is critical. “The experience of several European countries shows that such residual disinfectants are not necessary as long as other appropriate safeguards are in place,” the journal article said.

What do those safeguards look like?

“The authors suggest that [The Netherlands’] recent replacement of more than half its water pipes may contribute to high safety levels. By comparison, both the U.S. and U.K. systems are running on ‘expired’ pipes. As pipes age, Rosario-Ortiz and his co-researchers added, leaking and reduced pressure increase the chances of bacterial contamination. Leakage rates are recorded as 6 percent in the Netherlands, compared to 25 percent in the U.K. and 16 percent in the U.S.,” Medical Daily reported.

The researchers noted that there are various drawbacks to residual disinfectants.

“The presence of a disinfectant can lead to the formation of potentially carcinogenic disinfection byproducts, issues with corrosion, and complaints based on the fact that people dislike the taste of disinfectants in their water,” the journal article said.

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Taxonomy

• Water & Diseases
• Disinfection
• Disinfection