Current state of art on somatic coliphages and Clostridium perfringens and spores
In November 1998, the European Council adopted a directive, the Drinking Water Directive (DWD), concerning the quality of water intended for human consumption. It includes a certain number of microbiological, chemical or physical criteria or parameters to monitor, to ensure that i) it is “clean”, ii) the distribution network is safe and iii) to react promptly in case of contamination (Directive 98/83/EC)1.
The Directive has been implemented by Member States, but its approach to monitoring quality at the point of consumption uses parameters determined over 20 years ago. After the submission of the European’s citizens’ initiative “Right2Water” to the Commission in December 2013, the Commission invited Member States to improve the access to a minimum water supply and the management of water in a sustainable manner.
In 2017, following the WHO recommendations2, the Drinking Water Directive (DWD) was revised either for the microbiological or chemical parameters (RECAST DWD). Among the first ones, somatic coliphage (virus infecting Escherichia coli) has been proposed as new parameter, while bacterium Clostridium perfringens (C. perfringens) and its spores are already included in the Directive.
The present report provides an overview on the current knowledge of these two microbiological parameters, their biological characterisations, relevance and suitability as indicators for human faecal contamination in the drinking water treatment. Finally, the report illustrates the available and standardised methods for their detection in water, listing as well the new and most promising ones with advantages/disadvantages and costs.
Furthermore, the report provides a list of recommendations in order to elucidate the role of the two microbiological parameters for drinking water quality management.
LAMY Marie-Cecile;
SANSEVERINO Isabella;
NIEGOWSKA Magdalena Zofia;
LETTIERI Teresa;
2020-04-15
Publications Office of the European Union
JRC118219
978-92-76-12593-8 (online),
978-92-76-12592-1 (print),
1831-9424 (online),
1018-5593 (print),
EUR 29932 EN,
OP KJ-NA-29932-EN-N (online),
OP KJ-NA-29932-EN-C (print),
https://publications.jrc.ec.europa.eu/repository/handle/JRC118219,
10.2760/005492 (online),
10.2760/5359 (print),
