When can Point-of-Use Water Filters be used for Removal of Protozoa?

While boiling water is an effective way to kill most microbial pathogens, research performed in the United Kingdom has shown that people do not necessarily comply with boil water advisories. Similarly, in Walkerton, Ontario in 2000, only 44% of respondents reported that they were aware of the order to boil water when it was first issued on the local radio at the start of the outbreak and in Gideon, Michigan in 1993, 31% of persons investigated had consumed city tap water during the salmonellosis outbreak after the issuance of a boil water advisory.

Since research has proved that the heterotrophic bacterial regrowth occurring in point-of-use (POU) filters does not represent a health threat and may actually suppress the growth of pathogenic bacteria, POU filter systems have become the focus of increasing attention. This document examines how POU water filters can be used as an alternative water treatment to boiling water for Cryptosporidium oocyst and Giardia cyst removal during turbidity events, providing adequate disinfection is in place.