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Outbreaks of viral gastroenteritis are often connected to contaminated drinking water. The assessment of the water quality relies on the cultivation of indicator bacteria, and little is known of the fate of viruses in groundwater, especially in arctic regions. In Iceland, the groundwater temperature is between 3 and 6°C. The aim of this study was to determine virus inactivation at low temperature in a groundwater microcosm and in a borehole in a postglacial lava field. Two phage species that are commonly used as surrogates for norovirus were used, MS2 and PhiX174. Dialysis bags were used for the samples, and a device was constructed to hold many samples at a time and protect the samples in the borehole. No significant decrease of infective PhiX174 phages in the borehole or of the MS2 phages in the microcosm was observed. A slightly significant decrease of PhiX174 in the microcosm was noticed, with one log reduction time of 476 days. On the other hand, a significant reduction in MS2 was found in the field test, where the time needed for 90% reduction was 12·5 days. The results showed that an infective virus can exist in groundwater for months or years in arctic regions and a great difference may exist between results from microcosm and field tests. SIGNIFICANCE AND IMPACT OF THE STUDY: This study reveals that arctic regions are highly sensitive to virus contamination as an infective virus may exist in groundwater for years at low temperature. The results also show that the virus inactivation observed in field tests may differ considerably from the inactivation observed in laboratory microcosms. The results emphasize the importance of large protection zones around drinking water intakes as well as good wastewater treatment so that the likelihood of faecal contamination of groundwater is reduced., (© 2020 The Society for Applied Microbiology.)

The aim of this study was to investigate accumulated experience with water safety plans in one of the first countries to adopt systematic preventive management for drinking-water safety. Water utilities in Iceland have had a legal obligation since 1995 to implement a systematic preventive approach to secure safety of drinking water and protect public health. The water utilities responded by implementing either an adapted HACCP (Hazard Analysis Critical Control Points) model for larger water utilities or a simpler five step model for smaller water utilities. The research was carried out at 16 water utilities that serve about two-thirds of the population of Iceland. Both qualitative and quantitative methods were used with the aim of analysing if and what benefits water safety plans bring for water utilities and what is needed for successful implementation and operation of such systems. The results of the study show that numerous benefits and even the process of going through the implementing process were considered to be of advantage and change the attitude of the staff and the utility culture. Some obstacles and shortcomings came to light, such as lack of documentation and lack of regular internal and external audit. There was little communication with the public, although some mentioned that good public relations are important to succeed with water safety plans. Many important elements of success were revealed of which intensive training of staff and participation of staff in the whole process are deemed the most important. It is also important to have simple and well-structured guidelines, and good cooperation with the health authorities.

Icelandic waterworks first began implementing hazard analysis and critical control points (HACCP) as a preventive approach for water safety management in 1997. Since then implementation has been ongoing and currently about 68% of the Icelandic population enjoy drinking water from waterworks with a water safety plan based on HACCP. Preliminary evaluation of the success of HACCP implementation was undertaken in association with some of the waterworks that had implemented HACCP. The evaluation revealed that compliance with drinking water quality standards improved considerably following the implementation of HACCP. In response to their findings, waterworks implemented a large number of corrective actions to improve water safety. The study revealed some limitations for some, but not all, waterworks in relation to inadequate external and internal auditing and a lack of oversight by health authorities. Future studies should entail a more comprehensive study of the experience with the use of HACCP with the purpose of developing tools to promote continuing success.