Effect of water treatment processes on microbial contamination in drinking water in rural areas of the urban periphery

The water treatment infrastructure facilities play an important role in ensuring the safety of drinking water. A survey of the drinking water treatment process was conducted in the urban peripheral areas of Beijing, China, and the main water treatment infrastructure facilities in terms of their impact on microbial contamination were investigated. The sedimentation equipment, filtration facilities, and disinfection equipment are all significantly correlated with the concentration of heterotrophic plate counts in drinking water. The filtration facilities and disinfection equipment were also positively correlated with the concentration of total coliform and Escherichia coli. The effect of removing microorganisms by different water disinfection methods gradually decreases in the order of ozone, chlorine, chlorine dioxide, and ultraviolet light. The effect of microbial contamination removal of different water pumping methods is as follows: direct water supply > pressure tank > secondary pressing pump station > water tower > high-level water tank, and the removal effects are 7.6, 7.4, 4.1, 3.6, and 1.7 times that of self-flowing water supply. The study provides scientific support for the renovation, and upgrading of microbial pollution reduction in drinking water in rural areas of the urban periphery.