Dendrogram Analysis and Statistical Examination for Total Microbiological Mesophilic Aerobic Count of Municipal Water Distribution Network System

Abstract

The microbiological quality of water for human consumption is a critical safety aspect that should not be overlooked, especially when considering facilities for healthcare and the treatment of ill populations. Thus, the biological stability of water is crucial for the distribution network that delivers potable water to the final users for consumption and other human activities. The present work aimed to study a municipal distribution network system for city water within a healthcare facility. The implementation of the statistical analysis was conducted over long-term data collection, and the comparative study for the microbiological count of the water samples - from different points-of-use was assessed using the non-parametric analysis of the Kruskal-Wallis test. The comparative study involved a preliminary general one-way Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) followed by ad-hoc pairwise comparison. The statistical study involved a correlation matrix and a dendrogram to elucidate the level of association between different sections in the network. The ports C4 and C13 were at the trough in the microbiological count, in contrast to C13, which showed the highest level of the average microbial density. Despite a low to moderate level of correlation between the datasets of the water network, the tree diagram (dendrogram) analysis showed remarkable clustering. Use points could be grouped into three dense groups based on abrupt cuts in the similarity value. The study was useful in the analysis of the pattern and behavior of the microbial quality in a distribution water network in a specific area of the study. This work in turn would help in investigating the areas of improvement and defect spotting, in addition to assessing the biological stability of the water distribution system. The study could be extended to cover other different processed water networks, such as distilled, deionized, and purified water, as well as Water-For-Injection (WFI). Doi: 10.28991/HIJ-2022-03-01-03 Full Text: PDF