AWWA JAW63324

A study of the distribution system in Davenport, Iowa, suggests that monitoring for coliphages can help water providers detect viral intrusion resulting from main breaks. In this research, occurrence of coliphage in the distribution system was associated with wintertime main breaks. Low temperatures and use of chloramines, to which coliphages are resistant, aided in the survival and transport of the virus. Coliphage-testing is a simple assay that can provide information on virus intrusion and survival in drinking water systems, an issue of potential public health concern. Coliphages could prove an effective indicator of contamination from main breaks; the organisms' resistance to chloramines makes them particularly suited for use in chloraminated systems, an important consideration given the growing trend toward use of chloramines to control disinfection byproducts. Includes 28 references, tables, figures.