The Dutch secret: how to provide safe drinking water without chlorine in the Netherlands

TLDR: The Dutch approach that allows production and distribution of drinking water without the use of chlorine while not compromising microbial safety at the tap is summarized as follows: 1. Use the best source available, in order of preference: microbiologically safe groundwater, surface water with soil passage such as artificial recharge or bank filtration, direct treatment of surface water in a multiple barrier treatment; 2. Prevent ingress of contamination during distribution, and monitor for timely detection of any failure of the system to prevent significant health consequences as mentioned in this paper.

Abstract: The Netherlands is one of the few countries where chlorine is not used at all, neither for primary disinfection nor to maintain a residual disinfectant in the distribution network. The Dutch approach that allows production and distribution of drinking water without the use of chlorine while not compromising microbial safety at the tap, can be summarized as follows: 1. Use the best source available, in order of preference: microbiologically safe groundwater, surface water with soil passage such as artificial recharge or bank filtration, direct treatment of surface water in a multiple barrier treatment; 2. Use a preferred physical process treatment such as sedimentation, filtration and UV-disinfection. If absolutely necessary, also oxidation by means of ozone or peroxide can be used, but chlorine is avoided; 3. Prevent ingress of contamination during distribution; 4. Prevent microbial growth in the distribution system by production and distribution of biologically stable (biostable) water and the use of biostable materials; 5. Monitor for timely detection of any failure of the system to prevent significant health consequences. OA-fund TU Delft