Surely the many miles of underground pipes are a breeding ground for microbes, right?
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Positive pressure and chlorine. Water mains are always under pressure, so even if there’s a leak, water flows out and contaminants never flow in. If the pressure drops severely in the mains utilities will issue boil water orders for a while because groundwater containing bacteria and other toxins could have seeped in. The water in the mains and the surfaces of the mains isn’t as big a breeding ground for bacteria as it might seem because properly-treated water will have had almost all of the nutrients that could feed colonies of bacteria removed from it. The chlorine added at the end of the treatment process kills any bacteria before the water reaches the mains, and stays in the water to kill any bacteria that somehow manage to work their way into the system.
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