De Watergroep, Belgium's leading water utility serving a majority of the Flemish region, has successfully validated a novel water monitoring method for concentrating somatic coliphages, a key indicator of fecal contamination. The validation was conducted at their central laboratory under the supervision of Bea Timmermans, Advisor for Research and Quality in Water Microbiology at De Watergroep.
The method employs InnovaPrep's Concentrating Pipette (CP Select™), a rapid benchtop microorganism concentration device designed to significantly enhance sensitivity for analysis purposes.
In response to Directive(EU) 2020/2184 of the European Parliament and Council, which mandates stringent water safety testing requirements for drinking water companies, the council imposed a new required measurement for somatic coliphage virus load in water for human consumption. Compliance with this directive necessitates testing raw water both before treatment, and if detected above specified levels, posttreatment as well.
The comprehensive validation project encompassed three primary matrices: ground water, surface water, and post treatment drinking water, adhering to ISO 13843 (2017), ISO19036 (2019), ISO 29201 (2012) and ISO 10705-3 (2003) standards specific to the concentration step. Key parameters assessed during validation included reproducibility, repeatability, limit of quantitation, linearity, robustness, measurement uncertainty, bias, and recovery through efficiency of the concentration step.
In March 2024, the validation work underwent rigorous auditing by BELAC, resulting in the accreditation of analysis of somatic coliphages including concentration by the CP Select method under ISO 17025 standards. Furthermore, the newly draft version of the WAC/V/A/010 has been included in VITO's Compendium for the Sampling, Measurement and Analysis of Water.
About InnovaPrep
InnovaPrep specializes in the development and manufacture of preanalytical solutions designed for rapid collection and concentration of nano and microorganisms, as well as biological and synthetic particles from various sources such as air, liquids, and surfaces. Central to InnovaPrep's innovation are over 60 patents awarded and pending, centered on a novel Wet Foam Elution™ process, enabling robust and rapid particle concentration, thereby significantly enhancing detection capabilities, simplifying workflows, and reducing time to result.
