Legionella is currently the leading cause of drinking water disease outbreaks in the United States. U.S. drinking water regulations are generally based on an acceptable annual risk of infection of 1 in 10,000 people. Confirmed Legionella infections are still slightly below this benchmark, but some estimates put the true infection burden--accounting for both confirmed and undiagnosed cases--at 2 to 3 times the acceptable level. Legionella is commonly associated with premise plumbing systems (i.e., the pipes within your house), particularly in systems with insufficient maintenance and long periods of water stagnation. Although Legionella is indirectly regulated in surface water systems, there are currently no established federal regulations for Legionella in groundwater.

This episode takes a "deep dive" into the occurrence and implications of Legionella in groundwater systems. Listeners will learn the basics of Legionella pneumophila, how often it's detected and at what concentrations, and, most importantly, what can be done to control Legionella to avoid the severe health outcomes associated with Legionnaires' Disease.

This is an AI-generated podcast created with NotebookLM based on a publication in Water Research. The original article is available here: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.watres.2022.118615