Use of in vivo phycocyanin fluorescence to monitor potential microcystin-producing cyanobacterial biovolume in a drinking water source

The source water of a drinking water treatment plant prone to blooms, dominated by potential microcystin-producing cyanobacteria, was monitored for two seasons in 2007-2008. In the 2008 season, the median value for potential microcystin-producing cyanobacterial biovolume was 87% of the total phytoplankton biovolume in the untreated water of the plant. Depth profiles taken above the plant's intake identified three sampling days at high risk for the contamination of the plant's raw water with potentially toxic cyanobacteria. Chlorophyceae and Bacillariophyceae caused false positive values to be generated by the phycocyanin probe when cyanobacteria represented a small fraction of the total phytoplanktonic biovolume present. However, there was little interference with the phycocyanin probe readings by other algal species when potential microcystin-producing cyanobacteria dominated the phytoplankton of the plant's untreated water. A two-tiered method for source water monitoring, using in vivo phycocyanin fluorescence, is proposed based on (1) a significant relationship between in vivo phycocyanin fluorescence and cyanobacterial biovolume and (2) the calculated maximum potential microcystin concentration produced by dominant Microcystis sp. biovolume. This method monitors locally-generated threshold values for cyanobacterial biovolume and microcystin concentrations using in vivo phycocyanin fluorescence.