Prokaryotic communities in drinking water biofilters using alternative filter medium

Biofilters are often the heart of drinking water treatment systems in Europe. The effect that alternative filter media may have on the microbial communities and therefore in the duration of the start-up period has received little attention. This project investigates the microbial communities in an alternative filter medium during the start-up of manganese removal. Filter media properties were measured using gravimetric methods and a photometric particle analyzer. Physical, chemical and microbial analyses were used to follow the manganese ripening. Microbial analyses of both inlet water and filter medium samples detected the presence of commonly reported prokaryotic groups: Alphaproteobacteria, Betaprotobacteria, Nitrospirae and Gammaproteobacteria. MnOB's were already attached to the medium grains by day 30 of the start-up when removal of manganese was still low. Knowledge of the microbial community in alternative filter medium can have great impact on start-up of biofilters.