Reduction of Acid-Fast and Non-Acid-Fast Bacteria by Point of Use Coagulation-Flocculation-Disinfection

Point of use (POU) household water treatment is increasingly being adopted as a solution for access to safe water. Non-tuberculous Mycobacteria (NTM) are found in water, but there is little research on whether NTM survive POU treatment. Mycobacteria may be removed by multi-barrier treatment systems that combine processes such as coagulation, settling and disinfection. This work evaluated removal of a non-tuberculous Mycobacterium (Mycobaterium terrae) and a Gram-negative non-acid-fast environmental bacterium (Aeromonas hydrophila) by combined coagulation-flocculation disinfection POU treatment. Aeromonas hydrophila showed 7.7 log(10) reduction in demand free buffer, 6.8 log(10) in natural surface water, and 4 log(10) reduction in fecally contaminated surface water. Turbidity after treatment was <1 NTU. There was almost no reduction in levels of viable M. terrae by coagulant-flocculant-disinfectant in natural water after 30 minutes. The lack of Mycobacteria reduction was similar for both combined coagulant-flocculant-disinfectant and hypochlorite alone. A POU coagulant-flocculant-disinfectant treatment effectively reduced A. hydrophila from natural surface waters but not Mycobacteria. These results reinforce previous findings that POU coagulation-flocculation-disinfection is effective against gram-negative enteric bacteria. POU treatment and safe storage interventions may need to take into account risks from viable NTM in treated stored water and consider alternative treatment processes to achieve NTM reductions.