S15: Validating treatment systems intended for the microbial control of recreational waters

The term recreational water includes numerous water types such as swimming pools, hot tubs, fresh water and salt water beaches and water amusement parks.  Of these many varieties, only swimming pools and spas are typically amended with biocides and /or antimicrobial treatment technologies to control microbial growth and prevent the propagation of waterborne pathogens.    Recreational Water Illness (RWI) can spread by swallowing or just by having contact with the polluted water from swimming pools, spas, hot tubs and lakes. The most common RWI is gastroenteritis mainly caused by microorganisms such as Cryptosporidium, Giardia, Shigella and Escherichia coli O157:H7.  Industry has developed numerous treatment technologies to control these contaminants, such as mechanical filtration, ozonation, halogenation systems, and ultraviolet light devices.  The purpose of this presentation is to discuss the function and observed efficacy of these treatment devices in recreational water test settings.  Included in the discussion will be strategies for determining the antimicrobial efficacy of the treatment system.  AOAC, ANSI and ISO test methodology will be discussed, as will the basics for bench scale and pilot scale experimentation.  The rationale and importance of third party validation of the device efficacy will also be presented.