A 202 Microbial barrier analysis (MBA)—a guideline

Report no: 202/2014

Author: Prof. emeritus Hallvard Ødegaard, Scandinavian Environmental Technology, Stein W. Østerhus, NTNU and Britt-Marie Pott, Sydvatten AB

This report, that has been titled ”Microbial Barrier Analysis” (MBA-Guideline), is intended to clarify the barrier concept and to help water utilities and their consultants determine what actions they should take to be sure that the microbial barriers in their systems are sufficient and the water is safe to drink.

A procedure is outlined for a numerical analysis of the barrier status of an existing or a proposed water system. The guideline also includes recommendations on calculation- and test-methods (the ”tool-box”) for disinfection actions that can be used to ensure that the inactivation (log-reduction) of microorganisms will be sufficient for the water system conditions.

The calculation model (spreadsheet in Excel) that has been prepared for microbial barrier analysis is included when ordering the report and downloaded as a separate file. The file does not appear in the webshop, but is downloaded together with the report..