Stay in the know on all things drinking water
Dr. William B. Anderson is a Research Associate Professor and the Associate Director of the Water Science, Technology & Policy Group at the University of Waterloo. He has been active in drinking water quality and treatment research for more than 40 years, recently focusing on pathogen identification/removal/inactivation, assessment of adsorbed and desorption of contaminants on microplastics, better understanding of the role of colloidal nutrients on cyanobacterial growth in drinking water reservoirs, perfluorinated compounds, and biological filtration.
The past 15 years, Bill has maintained an email service drawing attention to items of interest to drinking water professionals including, for example, the latest research articles, regulatory updates, outbreak reports, topical issues, and media stories. Bill’s email service has expanded over time to include all interested individuals. These emails are now also archived here in a blog format as they are released, which can be explored by category or simply by scrolling through the posts below.
If you would like to join Bill’s email list for updates straight to your inbox, you can send an email to Bill to be added to the list.
CDC Releases First National Summary of Harmful Algal Bloom and Illness Surveillance
A new CDC report shows that from 2016–2018, 18 states reported 421 harmful algal blooms, 389 human illnesses, and at least 413 animal illnesses linked to harmful algal blooms.
Challenges of Detecting Lead in Drinking Water Using at-Home Test
Lead in drinking water remains a significant human health risk. At-home lead in water test kits could provide consumers with a convenient and affordable option to evaluate this risk, but their accuracy and reliability is uncertain. This study examined the ability of at-home lead test kits to detect varying concentrations of dissolved and particulate lead in drinking water.
Estimate of burden and direct healthcare cost of infectious waterborne disease in the United States
There is a huge amount of occurrence, hospital visit, and cost data in this report. It is the most comprehensive paper I have seen on this topic and worth a detailed read. It is available free of charge.
Probable Evidence of Fecal Aerosol Transmission of SARS-CoV-2 in a High-Rise Building
A recently published peer reviewed paper in the journal ‘Annals of Internal Medicine’ reports that “on the basis of circumstantial evidence, fecal aerosol transmission may have caused the community outbreak of COVID-19 in this high-rise building.” Fecal aerosolization and droplet production are nothing new when it comes to our understanding of pathogen risks, with some early papers having been published nearly 50 years ago.
Oral Microcystin‑LR Does Not Cause Hepatotoxicity in Pigs: Is the Risk of Microcystin‑LR Overestimated?
A key and somewhat unexpected outcome was that “no evidence of hepatotoxicity was found. These results shed more light onto the effects (or lack of effects) of low-dose oral microcystin-LR exposure. The data suggest that the risk of oral microcystin-LR exposure may be overestimated.” Hepatotoxicity is an important consideration for regulation.
Dissolved Microcystin Release Coincident with Lysis of a Bloom Dominated by Microcystis caused by a Novel Cyanophage (virus)
The study reports that “viral attack on cHABs may contribute to changes in community composition during blooms, as well as bloom decline, yet loss of bloom biomass does not eliminate the threat of cHAB toxicity. Rather, it may increase risks to the public by delivering a pool of dissolved toxin directly into water treatment utilities when the dominating Microcystis spp. are capable of producing microcystins.