Fungi at low levels are common or insignificant and often incidental visitors to wastewater treatment processes, although at higher abundance fungi may indicate low pH values somewhere within the system. Fungi may rarely cause or contribute to bulking events. More commonly, low pH itself may cause weak floc structure, high dispersed growth and disruption of cellular enzyme activity, which may lead to undesirable treatment performance.
Fungi are recognized as a filamentous, however, rather than being bacteria, they are represented by their own kingdom (the fungal kingdom) which also includes yeast, mold and mushrooms. Fungi contain chitin (a polysaccharide) within their cell walls,
