Microbial Resource Management in New Buildings: Microbial Ecology Influenced by Consumer Choices and Engineering Decisions
Frederik Hammes
EAWAG (The Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology), Switzerland
ABSTRACT: Bacteria lives in our plumbing systems. The composition and the quantity of these bacterial communities have potential long-term impacts on the consumers. Building plumbing systems are not regularly monitored from a microbial perspective, but plumbing systems are controllable environments. Choices made when building impact microbial growth, for instance selecting copper pipes vs. plastic pipes, the number of bathrooms, or the warm water temperature settings. These choices affect initial biofilm formation and development, and the establishment of the microbiome. We have the opportunity to manage and control drinking water communities by understanding and exploiting microbial ecology. Hammes explores factors contributing to biofilm development in plumbing systems and how to manage drinking water microbial communities.
