在生物过滤和分配系统再生中，最受关注的细菌营养素是可生物降解的有机物（BOM）。在原水水源和用户水龙头之间的任何微生物过程中，BOM都可以去除。基本上，所有这些去除都发生在生物膜中。这些微生物过程的存在意味着处理厂和分配系统都应被视为生物反应器。一般来说，最好使处理厂的性能最大化，从而使分配系统作为生物反应器的效率最小化。 这减少了不必要的细菌生长，并将消毒副产物和潜在腐蚀的水平降至最低。本文从一个统一的概念，即生物反应器时间或生物时间的角度，讨论了在水处理和分配中去除BOM的问题。从这个角度来看，目标应该是使处理厂的生物时间最大化，并将分配系统的生物时间最小化。

The bacterial nutrient of greatest concern in biological filtration and distribution system regrowth is biodegradable organic matter (BOM). BOM can be removed in any microbiological process which takes place between the raw water source and the consumer's tap. Essentially, all of this removal takes place in biofilms. The existence of these microbiological processes implies that both the treatment plant and the distribution system should be thought of as bioreactors. In general, it is preferable to maximize the performance of the treatment plant so that the efficiency of the distribution system as a bioreactor is minimized. This reduces undesirable bacterial growth and minimizes levels of disinfection byproducts and, potentially, corrosion. This paper discusses the removal of BOM in both water treatment and distribution within the context of a unifying concept, the bioreactor time or biotime. From this perspective, the objective should be to maximize the biotime of the treatment plant and minimize the biotime of the distribution system.