Bacterial Nitrification in Chloraminated Water Supplies

Nitrifying bacteria were detected in 64% of samples collected from five chloraminated water supplies in South Australia and in 20.7% of samples that contained more than 5.0 mg of monochloramine per liter. Laboratory experiments confirmed that nitrifying bacteria are relatively resistant to the disinfectant. Increased numbers of the bacteria were associated with accelerated decays of monochloramine within distribution systems. The combination of increased concentrations of oxidized nitrogen with decreased total chlorine residuals can be used as a rapid indicator of bacterial nitrification.