Understanding the Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water at the Point of Consumption with Citizen Science

Water quality monitoring at the point of consumption by consumers can improve the understanding of the microbial risk of drinking water. In this study, drinking water samples were collected by citizen science participants according to their normal drinking sources and behaviors. Among six different sample types, tap water received the most attention per sampling frequency (39%) and weighted importance score, followed by drinking fountain (38%) and personal container (21%). Enumeration of Escherichia coli and the total coliform as indicator organisms showed consistent and good quality in water samples from tap water and drinking fountains but significantly higher detection frequencies (90 and 90%, respectively) and median concentrations (14 and 252 CFU/100 mL, respectively) in water samples from personal containers. Microbial community analysis based on 16S rRNA gene amplicon sequencing showed that the microbial communities in water samples from personal containers were less diverse than microbial communities in the other water types, the latter of which showed high similarity in the microbial composition and α and β diversity. Several genera that include species of opportunistic pathogens were detected across samples from drinking water sources, while higher total relative abundances of these genera were detected in water samples from personal containers than others.