Project partners: Lund University, the Swedish University of Agricultural Sciences, Norrvatten
Grant: SEK 1 242 748
Project duration: July 1, 2026 – June 30, 2027
Contact Person: Catherine Paul
Purpose and objectives
The project is intended to support the World Health Organization (WHO) in its efforts to develop new drinking water guidelines. Specifically, the current state of knowledge regarding the occurrence of microbial quality indicators and waterborne pathogens in drinking water sources will be clarified, and the relationship between quality indicators and pathogens will be elucidated. The current edition provides some information, but its usefulness is limited by a lack of specificity and geographic relevance.
Expected impacts and results
The WHO’s drinking water guidelines form the basis for national and international regulations on water quality and drinking water treatment. In addition, they serve as an important knowledge resource for drinking water producers and researchers around the world. By developing a scientific foundation that can be applied to many different types of water sources and providing specific information on a wide range of pathogens, we make it easier for authorities, researchers, and drinking water producers to make well-informed decisions regarding water quality and treatment.
Planned approach and implementation
The project will identify and analyze scientific publications and microbial water quality data.
The presence of microbial indicators and pathogens in drinking water sources will be quantified using publicly available national and international data that describe microbial water quality, including data from bathing water monitoring. We also collect data from drinking water treatment plants’ raw water quality measurements. The collected data will then be statistically analyzed together with data describing, among other things, population density, land use, and weather to establish guideline values for microbial concentrations in various types of water sources.
The current state of knowledge regarding the relationship between microbial indicators and pathogens will be analyzed by examining the published scientific literature, as well as publicly available metagenomic data from surface water.
The project results will be disseminated through publications in peer-reviewed, open-access scientific journals. They will then serve as the basis for the WHO’s new drinking water guidelines.
The text on this page was written by the project team. The content has not been reviewed by our editors.
Goals and tasks
- Resilient supply and management of water in society
- Build and manage society in harmony with the waters
- Ensure good drinking water quality
- Secure supply and management of water
- Thriving and healthy waters
- Prevent and reduce the spread of hazardous substances
