[Substrate property of organic substances in the treatment of drinking water].

Abstract

A method for the determination of the bacterial growth rate as parameter for the biodegradability of organics in water is described. The increase of the number of bacteria during incubation is measured by turbidity (12 degrees forward scattering) and total cell number counted in the microscope. The method allows to define the influence of water treatment steps (ozone, activated carbon filtration) on the growth rate being a decisive criterion on regrowth problems in distribution systems.