A small article appeared last week commenting about the many pipes that deliver water to WA regions, and how they were lined with bacterial growths. It's been found that many of the state's pipelines were so long, that currant methods for disinfecting the water were not effective for their entire length.
The bacterial accumulation, called " biofilms", can contain pathogens such as ECOLI the same bug linked to food-poisoning outbreaks, and Naegleria fowleri, which causes amoebic meningitis.
Dr Plumb from the CSIRO stressed that the biofilms didn't pose an immediate health risk to regional water users as the water was re-disinfected. Possibly this could be the answer why we get a foul stench when turning on the tap or shower, to often for many peoples liking. It leaves the question are we still consuming these bugs and how many have been made ill?
Dr Plumb went on to say the national water regulations should be ammended to take note of bio-films. The latest water quality guidlines, published in 2004, do not mention them despite the fact that bio-films represent 95% of the living material found inside water pipes. How often are the pipes checked, or is this another " only if you have to", why are we paying such a high price for an poorly maintained product?
Subscribe to:
Post Comments (Atom)
1 comment:
The largest problem WA have, too many have their head in the sand. The people in charge of water won't act till there caught out, even then they think nothing of cutting corners.
They recently got a pay rise the question remains, for what? They don't maintain pipes or dams etc, yet they want to bring in the "MAR" system, they have to be kidding.
Post a Comment