Assessment of drinking-water quality in Indigenous Communities of Santa Victoria Este, Argentina

Abstract

Santa Victoria Este is in the north-east region of Argentina. Historically, socio-economic marginalization and poor governmental assistance have resulted in one of the poorest regions of the country. Over 60% of its population is estimated to belong to indigenous communities. Access to water is mainly through community wells, often lacking adequate infrastructure. With the main objective of empowering indigenous communities in relation to access to safe water, we: 1) established a local laboratory with capacity to analyze microbiological and physical and chemical parameters of water and transfer capabilities to the local community to ensure long-term monitoring; 2) assessed the water quality in 34 communal wells. Results (physical, chemical, metals, and microbiological parameters) show that 70.6% of the groundwater supplies are not safe for human consumption as they exceed the limits established by Argentinian regulation. Microbiological contamination was consistently found in water storage systems (tanks), highlighting the imperative need of water treatment and maintenance. A long-term monitoring program, which includes physicochemical and microbiological parameters, is crucial to ensure the quality of water in these communities and to take appropriate decisions and measures.