Abstract
This chapter investigates if domestic water supply systems supplied with harvested rainwater present an increased risk to health over systems supplied with potable mains water. Several studies are reviewed which conclude that the main risk to public health of mains-supplied hot water systems is the operation, maintenance, age, location and temperature of the system. Rainwater-harvesting systems contain an inherent water treatment train which improves the water quality at different parts of the rwh system. Results from laboratory experiments conducted using a variety of water-related bacteria to determine the time required to reduce a bacterial population by 90% at a given temperature are compared with international studies. The results show that after 5 min of exposure at 60 and 55 °C, respectively, Salmonella, Pseudomonas aeruginosa and total viable count at 22 and 37 °C concentrations were reduced to zero. Irish standards require hot water systems to be maintained at temperatures at or above 60 °C. The conclusion from this chapter is that hot water systems supplied with harvested rainwater do not present an increased risk to health over hot water systems fed with mains water.
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McCarton, L., O’Hogain, S., Reid, A. (2021). Health Effects of Utilising RWH. In: The Worth of Water. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50605-6_6
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-50605-6_6
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