How clean is the water your pigs actually drink? In a German study, almost half of 317 drinking water samples taken from pig farms exceeded the microbiological guideline values (1). Even if your source water is germ-free, micro-organisms can still spread due to biofilm in your systems, which could ultimately cost you up to €13 per Salmonella-positive pig (2). The benefits of effective drinking water disinfection therefore extend beyond simply improving your animals’ welfare.

Symptoms of Salmonella 

Although a salmonella infection in pigs is often not visible, infected animals may display the following symptoms, amongst others:

  • Lethargy and loss of appetite.
  • Watery, sometimes yellowish diarrhoea.
  • High fever, sometimes reaching around 41 °C.
  • Sudden mortality.

Drinking water as a route of transmission

Verontreinigd drinkwater kan bijdragen aan de opname en verspreiding van de bacterie. Daarom adviseert de World Organisation for Animal Health om drinkwater te controleren op salmonellaverontreiniging en wateropslag- en distributiesystemen regelmatig te reinigen en te desinfecteren (3).

In drinkwaterleidingen kan bovendien biofilm ontstaan. Deze slijmlaag kan verschillende micro-organismen bevatten, waaronder Salmonella, en de microbiologische kwaliteit van het drinkwater beïnvloeden. Bacteriën in biofilm zijn bovendien moeilijker te bestrijden dan bacteriën die vrij in het water voorkomen. Een goede waterbehandeling helpt om de microbiologische waterkwaliteit van bron tot drinkpunt te beheersen (4,5).

The Watter-system

To effectively control micro-organisms in drinking water and the water system, the Watter-system automatically produces a disinfectant on-site using water, salt and electricity. This disinfectant is more effective than conventional disinfectants and is added to the drinking water in a controlled manner. In this way, the Watter system helps to ensure good microbiological water quality from source to tap.

Advantages of a Watter-system

On-site automatic production
The Watter system produces the disinfectant directly on the pig farm. This ensures a constant supply of fresh disinfectant and reduces your reliance on the delivery and storage of ready-to-use products.

Approved for drinking water
The disinfectant produced by the Watter system is authorised for use in drinking water for animals (6).

Controlled treatment
The Watter system dispenses the produced disinfectant into the drinking water in a controlled manner. In this way, the system helps to control micro-organisms in the water and to maintain microbiological water quality on a long-term basis.

Demonstrably better water quality
Water quality tests carried out before and during the use of the Watter system clearly show how microbiological water quality improves. By taking measurements at the source and at the drinking points, you can see the system’s performance throughout the entire water supply network and gain certainty about the water your pigs are actually drinking.

Experiences from pig farmers

The case studies below illustrate how two pig farms saw improvements in their drinking water systems, water quality and Salmonella status following the installation of the Watter system.

 

Thijs van Eijk

“Our salmonella status is in the best category”

Thijs van Eijk runs a farm in Nederweert with his family, which has 350 sows, 3,200 fattening pigs and 43,000 laying hens. After the farm had experienced problems with biofilm and blocked drinking nipples, the Watter system was introduced in 2018 following a trial period.

According to Van Eijk, the pigs’ salmonella status subsequently improved and the farm now ranks in the top category. Whereas salmonella measurements had previously shown sporadic spikes, he says these have not occurred since. He also cites the system’s automatic operation as a key advantage over his previous water treatment method.

Read Thijs van Eijk his story here

Leo and José Kuijpers

“From 720.000 to <100 cfu/ml”

Leo and José Kuijpers run a near-closed pig farm in Valkenswaard with 250 sows and around 2,000 fattening pigs. Following increased focus on drinking water quality, the Watter system was commissioned in October 2019.

At the baseline measurement, the total bacterial count in the untreated drinking water for the fattening pigs was 720,000 cfu/ml. Following installation, this initially fell to 53,000 cfu/ml. A measurement taken two months later showed a total bacterial count of <100 cfu/ml; the yeasts and moulds previously present were also no longer detected at that time.

Lees het volledige verhaal van Leo en José

Would you like to know how the microbiological quality of the drinking water and the water system on your pig farm can be improved?

Contact our experts for more information

Contact

Sources

  1. Münster, Pia, and Nicole Kemper. “Long-Term Analysis of Drinking Water Quality in Poultry and Pig Farms in Northwest Germany.” Frontiers in Animal Science, vol. 5, 18 Sept. 2024, https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/animal-science/articles/10.3389/fanim.2024.1467287/full. Accessed 2 Nov. 2026.
  2. Bester, C., Käsbohrer, A., Wilkins, N., Correia Carreira, G., & Marschik, T. (2024). Identification of cost-effective biosecurity measures to reduce Salmonella along the pork production chain. Frontiers in Veterinary Science, 11, 1380029. https://doi.org/10.3389/fvets.2024.1380029 
  3. World Organisation for Animal Health. (2024). Prevention and control of Salmonella in commercial pig production systems. In Terrestrial Animal Health Code (hoofdstuk 6.14). https://www.woah.org/fileadmin/Home/eng/Health_standards/tahc/2024/en_chapitre_salmonella_pig.htm
  4. Instituut voor Landbouw-, Visserij- en Voedingsonderzoek. (z.d.). Biofilmvorming in drinkwatersystemen van varkens en pluimvee (BIOFILMPREVENT). Geraadpleegd op 7 oktober 2026, van https://pureportal.ilvo.be/nl/projects/biofilmvorming-in-drinkwatersystemen-van-varkens-en-pluimvee/
  5. Osland, A. M., Oastler, C., Konrat, K., Nesse, L. L., Brook, E., Richter, A. M., Gosling, R. J., Arvand, M., & Vestby, L. K. (2023). Evaluation of disinfectant efficacy against biofilm-residing wild-type Salmonella from the porcine industry. Antibiotics, 12(7), 1189. https://doi.org/10.3390/antibiotics12071189
  6. Watter BV. (2024). Gebruikershandleiding Watter-systeem: Wettelijk gebruiksvoorschrift PT5, toelatingsnummer 16301 N [Gebruikershandleiding].