Emily Clements, Katherine Crank, Robert Nerenberg, Ariel Atkinson, Daniel Gerrity, Deena Hannoun
Water age in drinking water systems is often used as a proxy for water quality but is rarely used as a direct input in assessing microbial risk. This study directly linked water ages in a premise plumbing system to concentrations of via a growth model. In turn, the concentrations were used for a quantitative microbial risk assessment to calculate the associated probabilities of infection () and clinically severe illness () due to showering. Risk reductions achieved by purging devices, which reduce water age, were also quantified. The median annual exceeded the commonly used 1 in 10,000 (10) risk benchmark in all scenarios, but the median annual was always 1-3 orders of magnitude below 10. The median annual was lower in homes with two occupants (4.7 × 10) than with one occupant (7.5 × 10) due to more frequent use of water fixtures, which reduced water ages. The median annual for homes with one occupant was reduced by 39-43% with scheduled purging 1-2 times per day. Smart purging devices, which purge only after a certain period of nonuse, maintained these lower annual values while reducing additional water consumption by 45-62%.
