Bad tastes, odours and toxins in our drinking water reservoirs: are benthic cyanobacteria the culprits?

This project provided solutions for the water industry to address the problem of taste and odour and toxinproducing benthic cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Cyanobacteria contaminate drinking water sourcescausing health and aesthetic concerns. While cyanobacteria living in the water (planktonic) are reasonablywell investigated and managed, the contribution of those living on the sediments (benthic) is not understood. New techniques were developed for the sampling of benthic mats and the characterisation of benthic microbial communities, enabling effective monitoring in reservoirs, and provide predictive models for their timely and effective management.

本项目为水务行业提供了针对异味问题以及产毒底栖蓝藻（cyanobacteria，又称蓝绿藻）的解决方案。蓝藻可污染饮用水水源，引发健康隐患与美学层面的顾虑。尽管水体中的浮游蓝藻已得到较为充分的研究与管理，但附着于沉积物的底栖蓝藻的生态贡献尚未被充分认知。本项目开发了底栖藻垫采样技术与底栖微生物群落表征方法，可实现水库的有效监测，并为其及时高效的治理提供预测模型。