bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/655316; this version posted June 13, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 1 Microbial Nitrogen Metabolism in Chloraminated Drinking Water 2 Reservoirs 3 4 Sarah C Potgietera, Zihan Daic, Stefanus N Ventera, Makhosazana Sigudud and Ameet J 5 Pintob* 6 7 a Rand Water Chair in Water Microbiology, Department of Microbiology and Plant 8 Pathology, University of Pretoria, South Africa 9 b Department of Civil and Environmental Engineering, Northeastern University, Boston, USA 10 c College of Science and Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Glasgow, UK 11 d Scientific Services, Rand Water, Vereeniging, South Africa 12 13 *corresponding author: Dr Ameet J Pinto 14 Email address:
[email protected] 15 16 17 18 19 20 21 22 23 24 25 bioRxiv preprint doi: https://doi.org/10.1101/655316; this version posted June 13, 2019. The copyright holder for this preprint (which was not certified by peer review) is the author/funder. All rights reserved. No reuse allowed without permission. 26 Abstract 27 Nitrification is a common concern in chloraminated drinking water distribution systems. The 28 addition of ammonia promotes the growth of nitrifying organisms, causing the depletion of 29 chloramine residuals and resulting in operational problems for many drinking water utilities. 30 Therefore, a comprehensive understanding of the microbially mediated processes behind 31 nitrogen metabolism together with chemical water quality data, may allow water utilities to 32 better address the undesirable effects caused by nitrification.