*2.6. Statistical Analyses*

The GraphPad Prism software v7.0 (Graph-Pad, California, USA), SPSS 20, and multivariate analyses using PRIMER software v7.0.7 were used to perform all statistical analyses. Data are presented as means ± standard deviation (SD). Non-normalized data were normalized. Then, repeated ANOVA tests with post hoc analysis using the Bonferroni test were conducted for determining site differentiation. Out of the 20 determined water parameters, eight were distinct between sampling sites, i.e., *Legionella* plate counts, water turbidity, chloride, sulphate, total dissolved solids (TDS), magnesium, calcium, and calcium/magnesium ratio.

Associations between MLVA-genotypes were calculated using the Similarity Profile Analysis (SIMPROF) [28] based on Spearman rank correlation. To determine the effect of physico-chemical parameters on *L. pneumophila* genotypes, Principal Component Analysis (PCA) was used for visualization of cluster identification. PCA included the 8 parameters distinct for the sampling sites. Only MLVA-genotypes represented by at least three strains were included in the cluster analyses and PCA.
