Conditiona | Dominant impact | Hypothesized result | Experiment herein |
---|---|---|---|
I. No disinfectant and low water heater set point (T < 48 °C) | Growth due to increased delivery of nutrients to distal taps at ideal growth T | Greatest total numbers produced in distal taps with time but lower concentrations due to more frequent use | Control system, over time (T = 39 °C) |
II. No disinfectant and moderate water heater set point (T = 48–51 °C) | Low-use condition provides optimal ecological selection by transient sub-lethal T events | Lower numbers produced in distal taps and lower concentrations at higher use | Exp. 2 (T = 51 °C) |
III. No disinfectant and high water heater set point (T > 55 °C) | Re-growth limited only to distal taps during stagnation events | Lower concentrations | Exp. 3 (T = 58 °C) |
IV. Stable and high disinfectant | Disinfection effect dominates | Lower number and concentrations | Not tested in this work |