AWWA ACE65123

The main objective of this research was to develop a methodology to evaluate the relative vulnerability of municipal drinking water utilities to pathogenic microbiological contamination. Specific objectives included: to identify and quantify indicators to evaluate the vulnerability of drinking water utilities to contamination by pathogenic microorganisms; to classify the drinking water utilities under study according to their relative vulnerability to microbiological contamination of drinking water; and, to evaluate the feasibility of applying the obtained methodology to the proposed indicators. Topics covered related to methodology included: region under study; selection of drinking water utilities; indicators development and classification; data acquisition; and, data treatment. Topics outlined under results and discussion include: drinking water utility (DWU) description; Microbiological Risk Value for each DWU; Model Validation; Sensitivity analysis; and, Feasibility analysis.