In this study, we systematically investigate solar disinfection of synthetic secondary wastewater, with the effort to decrypt the effects disinfection conditions have on post-irradiation bacterial regrowth in the dark. A full factorial design of 240 experiments was employed to investigate the effects of (i) exposure time (1, 2,3 and 4h), (ii) treatment temperature (20, 30, 40, 50 and 60 degrees C), (iii) initial bacterial concentration (10(3), 10(4), 10(5) and 10(6) CFU/mL) and (iv) sunlight intensity (0, 800 and 1200 W/m(2)) on Escherichia coli survival for a subsequent 48-h dark control period. The decisive implications treatment temperature inflicted in regrowth were monitored and interpreted within two temperature ranges, from 20 to 40 degrees C and 40 to 60 degrees C. In dark tests, bacterial populations presented initial moderate growths at 20-40 degrees C range, followed by intense regrowth. At 40-60 degrees C range, acute thermal inactivation without long-term regrowth predominated at 50 degrees C and was total at 60 degrees C, within the 4-h treatment period. Introduction of light resulted in higher removal rates or permanent inactivation for 800 and/or 1200 W/m(2), respectively. No post-treatment regrowth in the dark was observed after 24 and 48 h, in completely inactivated samples, and its demonstration, when observed, was well correlated to the bacterial numbers at the end of the disinfection period. Statistical observations on the transferred bacterial populations from day to day are also discussed in this paper. (C) 2014 Elsevier B.V. All rights reserved.