The occurrence of filamentous fungi in drinking water distribution systems

Abstract

The densities of filamentous fungal colonies, together with physicochemical and bacteriological parameters, were assessed in a chlorinated and unchlorinated drinking water distribution system at eight separate times over a period of 1 year. Filamentous fungal colonies were enumerated by membrane filtration on Czapek–Dox agar. The mean number of filamentous fungal colony-forming units per 100 mL of drinking water was 18 in the unchlorinated and 34 in the chlorinated system. The majority of filamentous fungi isolated were saprophytic Deuteromycotina. The four most frequently occurring genera were Penicillium, Sporocybe, Acremonium, and Paecilomyces. In the chlorinated system, only physicochemical parameters correlated with observed fungal frequencies, whereas in the unchlorinated system, none of the parameters exhibited significant correlations with fungal numbers.