Household Drinking Water Quality Research Articles

The benefit of clean water on child health: An empirical analysis with specific reference to Escherichia Coli water contamination

Microorganism-mediated degradation of water quality is a major public health concern in developing countries. Previous literature has shown an association between household water pollution and childhood diarrhoea; however, its effects on child growth, respiratory health, and infant mortality have not been widely investigated. This study assesses the impact of household drinking water contaminated with Escherichia coli (E. coli) on child’s weight-for-height and weight-for-age z-scores, acute respiratory infections (ARI), and diarrhoea incidence among five years children, and on infant mortality rate (IMR) in Pakistan. We use district-level geospatial information and the latest waves of unique Multiple Indicator Cluster Survey (MICS) data containing information on ‘point-of-service delivery’ (POS) and ‘point-of-consumption’ (POC) water quality, collected for the first time on a large scale in Pakistan. We employ an instrumental variable approach to address potential endogeneity issues in household drinking water quality, finding that POC drinking water contamination significantly affects children’s weight-for-height and weight-for-age z-scores and diarrhoea but insignificantly affects ARI and IMR. The effects of contaminated water are found to be particularly significant in children older than 6 months of age and an insignificant effect is observed for younger children. To protect the children from growth failure and contracting diarrhoea, household water quality should be improved.

Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Quality of Household Drinking Water from Source to Point of Use in Akewu Community in Ibadan, Oyo State, Southwest, Nigeria

Poor household water storage is one of the major factors contributing to contamination of drinking water in Nigeria. Studies have shown that sizes of containers opening can affect water quality, but little has been documented on comparative effect of storage containers with different opening sizes in improving drinking water quality in Ibadan. This study was designed to assess the effect of different storage containers on household drinking water quality in selected communities in Ibadan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Four communities in Ibadan North Local Government namely; Akewu using protected springs as household drinking water sources were purposively selected. Forty-four households (11 from each community) were selected and randomly assigned to four treatment groups; those with Covered Buckets with Taps (CBT), Covered Buckets without Tap (CB), Covered Kegs with Taps (CKT) and Covered Kegs without Tap (CK). Prior to introducing the treatment containers, water samples were collected from their Regular Storage Containers (RSC) and springs for physicochemical and bacteriological analysis using standard methods. Participants were thereafter encouraged to store drinking water in the treatment containers provided for them. Water samples were later collected from CBT, CB, CKT and CK containers twice daily for 3 alternate days over two weeks for bacteriological analysis. In addition, oldest female of selected households were interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire to elicit information on their socio-demographic characteristics, storage container cleaning and handwashing practices. Results of physicochemical and bacteriological findings were compared with Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) guidelines. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t- test and ANOVA at p=0.05. At baseline, mean pH values of water samples from the springs and RSC were 6.4±0.6 and 7.1±0.7 respectively compared with 6.5-8.5 limits recommended by SON. Mean chloride concentration of springs (14.3±7.4mg/l) and RSC (19.3±10.0 mg/l) samples were below 250mg/l limit recommended by SON. Mean Total Coliform Count (TCC) of the springs in the four communities was 18.0±4.0 and mean TCC of RSC was 12.7±4.9 which exceeded the SON standard of 10MPN/100ml. Five percent of water samples from RSC had mean E.coli count of 100/100ml compared with SON guidelines of 0/100ml. The mean TCC after introducing CB, CBT, CK and CKT in all the communities were 10.0±4.0, 8.5±4.2, 6.9±2.8 and 7.3±3.7 respectively (p<0.05). No E.coli was found in the samples collected from the treatment storage containers. The percentage difference of coliform count in water from springs and RSC was 29.4% while percentage difference from RSC and CB, CBT, CK and CKT were 21.5%, 33.2%, 45.5% and 42.5% respectively. Mean age of the 44 respondents interviewed was 37.9±10.7years. Seventy-three percent washed their hands with only water after defecation and 95.0% stored water for cooking and drinking in the same container. Sixty-eight percent cleaned their containers weekly while 32.0% cleaned twice weekly.

Packaged drinking water in Indonesia: The determinants of household in the selection and management process

Abstract The availability of safe drinking water remains a challenge in Indonesia. Packaged water in bottles or refillable containers has been increasingly popular as an alternative to good-quality drinking water. This study aimed to identify the reasons for the selection, management, and factors that influenced bottled and refilled water use in Indonesia. A cross-sectional Household Drinking Water Quality (HDWQ) study was conducted in 34 Indonesian provinces in 2020 involving 7,236 households as analyzed samples. The data analysis also included the 2020 National Socioeconomic Survey data to obtain households' socioeconomic status. As many as 68 and 63% of households consumed good-quality bottled and refilled water, respectively. Health was the reason for 29% of households choosing good-quality bottled water, while 49% of households selected good-quality refilled water out of habit. Several factors related to the consumption of fine-quality packaged water were high social status, water physical quality, ease of access, health reason, monthly expenses to buy drinking water, and storing water in manufactured containers. Packaged water, whether bottled or refilled, does not guarantee good physical and chemical quality. Therefore, to ensure good quality, the water storage should be kept from contamination.

Efficacy of solar water disinfection treatment system in improving rural and peri-urban household drinking water quality and reducing waterborne diarrhoeal diseases

Abstract Consumption of untreated microbiologically contaminated water, prevalent in many developing countries, exposes the vulnerable population to inordinate health risks including most life-threatening diarrhoeal diseases like cholera and other illnesses. In response, innovative techniques for treating water at the household level, known as household water treatment (HWT), have emerged as practical and cost-effective solutions. Solar water disinfection (SODIS) has gained recognition as one such method that utilizes sunlight to inactivate harmful micro-organisms in water. This review examines the effectiveness of SODIS as an HWT technique by analysing scientifically robust evidence documenting its microbiological efficacy and the positive health gains among SODIS users. It explores the challenges and limitations that impact its inactivation efficiency and sustainability. Its novelty lies in its expanded exploration of the available strategies and techniques for enhancing the effectiveness of SODIS to address its associated limitations and challenges. By providing a comprehensive analysis of the scientific evidence, this review presents compelling reasons for the implementation and scalability of SODIS in the developing world. This novel perspective contributes to the existing literature on improving access to safe drinking water in underserved communities, offering valuable insights into the advancement of SODIS as a practical and sustainable HWT solution.

Household drinking water quality and its predictors in flood-prone settings of Northwest Ethiopia: A cross-sectional community-based study

Globally, the deterioration of drinking water quality is a major public health problem that contributes to the spread of disease and causes death. Therefore, it is important to have regular quality control monitoring. This study aimed to assess the level of physicochemical and bacteriological quality of household drinking water and its contributing factors in flood-prone settlements of South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in flood-prone settings of Northwest Ethiopia from January 17 to March 30, 2021. Structured questionnaires were used to gather the sociodemographic, environmental, and behavioral data. A total of 675 drinking water samples were collected from water storage containers of selected households. Logistic regression models were used for both univariate and multivariable studies. The survey included a total of 675 households. The mean values of pH (5.9 ± 1.03), turbidity (6.7 ± 2.21 NTU), and free residual chlorine (0.02 ± 0.01 mg/l) did not meet the WHO recommended limits for drinking water. The prevalence of fecal contamination of drinking water in the study area was 62.2% with [95% CI (53–60%)]. Family size [AOR = 2.205, 95% CI (1.375–3.536), absence of latrine [AOR = 3.449, 95% CI (1.349–8.823)], and lack of a separate container to draw water from its storage [AOR = 0.454, 95% CI (0.249–0.827)] were significant predictors for fecal contamination of household drinking water. In conclusion, the water quality in terms of pH, turbidity, residual chlorine, and bacteriological parameters was poor and not suitable for consumption. High prevalence of fecal contamination of water was found, and it was significantly associated with family size, the absence of a latrine, and the lack of a separate cap to take water from the storage. Therefore, continuous chlorination and monitoring its concentration, educating the community on how to use stored water, educating the advantage of having a latrine, and promoting point-of-use treatments such as filtration and boiling are needed.

The Relationship Between Household Drinking Water Quality and The Incidence of Stunting

<div><table cellspacing="0" cellpadding="0" align="left"><tbody><tr><td align="left" valign="top"><p><em>Unhealthy housing conditions will hurt human health, one of which is ARI. Based on data from the Stabat Health Center, ARI is among the top 10 diseases. Based on 2019 data, there were 1572 cases; the increase in cases occurred from 2020 to 1692, with 206 cases in Sidomulyo Village. Moreover, the physical condition of the houses in Sidomulyo still needs to meet the requirements of a healthy home. Based on the Basic Health Research (Riskesdas) report, the prevalence of stunting in Indonesia increased from 2016 to 2018, namely 27.5% in 2016, 29.6% in 2017, and 30.8% in 2018 (Riskesdas, 2018). Factors causing stunting are divided into direct causal factors and indirect causal factors. This study aimed to determine the relationship between household drinking water quality and the incidence of stunting in children aged 6-59. Observational research with a case-control design on children aged 6-59 months in the Talun Kenas Health Center Area, Deli Serdang Regency. The sampling technique was carried out by consecutive sampling with a total sample of 42 subjects in each group. Stunting was categorized based on TB/U score < -2 SD according to KEPMENKES RI anthropometric standard table. Drinking water quality was tested using a sanitarian kit—bivariate analysis using the Chi-Square test by looking at the Odds Ratio (OR). The results of the bivariate analysis show that the quality of household drinking water is associated with stunting in children aged 6-59 months (p=0.004; OR=4.144), meaning that the quality of drinking water that does not meet the requirements increases the incidence of stunting in children aged 6-59 months. This study concludes a significant relationship between the quality of household drinking water and the incidence of stunting in children aged 6-59 months.</em></p></td></tr></tbody></table></div>

Socio-demographic and water handling practices affecting quality of household drinking water in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya

Household drinking water quality is dependent on a number of determinants which could be arising at the source, during transportation or due to storage and handling practices. The challenge of unsafe water is even big in urban settings that are often characterized by exponential population growth, increased urbanization, industrialization and poor sanitary facilities. Contaminated water is a leading cause of water borne diseases which are a major public health and policy makers concern. In fact, Water borne diseases are third cause of mortality in Kenya whereas they are ranked second in Kisii. The study was designed to investigate the factors affecting household drinking water quality in Kisii Town that has four main zones which include: Mwembe, Jogoo, Nyanchwa and CBD. Demographics, level of awareness in terms of water quality as well as hygiene and sanitation practices of the study population were studied using questionnaires. The questionnaires were filled by interviewing household heads from 422 sampled households. Qualitative data was also obtained by use of Focused group discussions (FGDs). Perspectives of key people such as public health officers were acquired through Key informant interviews (KIIs). The study found a significant relationship between household size and water quality in terms of presence of total coliforms. The following hygiene and sanitation factors were found to be having significant relationship with presence of E. coli in household drinking water; source of water (p = 0.002), transportation container (p = 0.029), covering during transportation (p = 0.012), storage container (p < 0.001), method of drawing from storage container (p < 0.001), feces disposal (p = 0.001) and garbage disposal method (p = 0.04). The conclusion of this study is that good hygiene and sanitation practices are important in ensuring total safety of drinking water at the point of use. There is therefore need for more capacity building in this region to ensure that people do not consume contaminated water which is a major contributing factor to water-borne diseases.

Application of the quorum sensing inhibitor to improve ARGs removal by membrane-based household drinking water treatment process

Antibiotic resistance genes (ARGs) have become an increasing threat to human health. Membrane-based technologies have been applied to address multiple concerns regarding the quality of household drinking water (HDW), including ARGs. However, the long-term operation of membrane-based HDW purifiers would inevitably lead to biofouling, making the membrane turn from cleaner to a secondary pollution source. This study proposed a strategy based on quorum sensing inhibitor (QSI) to control ARGs in the finished water of HDW purifiers. Three reported QSIs, vanillin (VL), cranberry extracts (CBETs), and tannic acid (TA), were selected to investigate their effects on the removal of ARGs by typical HDW purifiers, and the corresponding influencing mechanism was elucidated. The results indicated that ARGs leakage occurred in the absence of QSI but disappeared with the addition of VL, CBETs, and TA. The introduction of VL increased the guarantee rate of ≥ 3 log ARGs removal increased from 63.3 to 70% (control group) to 88.9–100%. The influencing mechanism of QSIs on ARGs removal by membrane filtration can be attributed to direct effect (direct inactivation of the ARGs host) and indirect effects (adjusting the physiochemical properties of the membrane surface and bioaccumulation). This study provides data on the regulatory mechanisms of biofouling induced by QSI and proposes a new strategy for ARGs control by membrane-based processes.

Bacteriological quality of household drinking water in North Gondar Zone, Ethiopia; a community-based cross-sectional study

Ethiopia is one of the developing countries where only 52% of its population have access to safe drinking water. To determine the level of faecal contamination in drinking water, the E. coli has been found to be the most specific indicator. The purpose of this study was to determine household bacteriological drinking water quality and its associated factors in rural North Gondar Zone Ethiopia. A community-based cross-sectional study was conducted in rural parts of North Gondar Zone from April to June, 2016. Water samples from water storage at household level were taken using standardized water sampling techniques to determine the level of faecal contamination. Face-to-face interview using structured questionnaires and checklist were used to identify the associated factors. A total of 736 households participated in this study. The prevalence of positive faecal coliform in the households is found to be 72.6% (95%C.I; 69.4–75.8). In multivariate analysis; occupational status [AOR; 0.35, 95%; CI (0.16,0.77)], income [(AOR);0.45, 95%; CI (0.3, 0.68)], type of solid waste disposal habit [AOR; 0.16, 95%; CI (0.36, 0.66)], source of water [AOR; 0.42, 95%; CI (0.28, 0.65)], shortage of water [AOR; 2.8, 95%; CI (1.88, 4)] were variables identified as predictors for faecal coliform contamination of water in the household. There is high level of faecal contamination of household drinking water in North Gondar Zone. Occupational status, income, solid waste disposal habit, sources of drinking water, and shortage of water were predictor for presence of faecal coliform contamination in household drinking water.

Modeling of Hydraulic Performance in Disks and Full-Scale Ceramic Water Filters.

Ceramic filters for household water treatment can improve water quality and reduce diarrheal disease. Hydraulic performance is critical for quality control and user acceptability, and hydraulic models have previously been developed and tested with experimental full-scale filters. As filters are cumbersome, there is interest in using disks instead of filters in laboratory efficacy studies. To assess the validity of disk use, we collected experimental volume from three sets of full-scale frustum-shaped filters and matching disks with different burn-out material sieve sizes and firing temperatures. We compared the experimental and fitted data by calibrating hydraulic conductivities from filters and disks. Hydraulic conductivities increased with larger burn-out material and higher firing temperatures but were comparable between filters and disks (2.00-6.15 × 10-7m·s-1 and 2.69-6.32 × 10-7m·s-1, respectively). We found that previously described hydraulic models successfully predicted cumulative volumes for filters and disks with rRMSE ranging from 2.1 to 9.6% (filters) and 3.4 to 4.7% (disks). The error increased slightly (rRMSE: 5.0-15%) when predicting hydraulic parameters for filters from the hydraulic conductivity of disks. Our results validate a method to predict full-scale filter hydraulic performance from hydraulic conductivity of disks and can be used to simplify and increase testing capacity, resulting in higher quality, more acceptable filters that improve household drinking water quality.

Bacteriological and physico-chemical quality of household drinking water in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya

Water is a basic human need which is required in many operations especially in households. However, this essential commodity in most cases does not meet the generally accepted safety standards. The study was designed to investigate the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water used in households in Kisii town, Kenya. Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to obtain information concerning household drinking water quality and safety. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain 422 drinking water samples at the point of consumption from the 4 zones of Kisii town for analysis. From the study it was revealed that TDS and electrical conductivity of the analyzed water samples were within the recommended standards of less than 1000 ppm and 1500 μSCM−1 respectively. Further, it was found that 69.4% of the samples had pH range of between 6.5-8.5, 91.9% had turbidity of less than 5NTU, 3.8% had temperature below 15 °C and 31.2% of the chlorinated samples had chlorine residue above 0.2 ppm. In terms of bacteriological analysis, 39.3% of the samples were contaminated with total coliforms and 17.5% with E. coli. The main finding from the study was that the household water samples were contaminated with bacteria and unfit for human consumption because both total coliforms and E. coli exceeded the recommended Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and WHO standards. Therefore, public health officers should not only collect water samples from sources but also from households regularly to ascertain its quality and provide water safety promotion education to the general public. There was a strong relationship between bacterial contamination and temperature as well as chlorine residue. The study recommends Gusii Water and Sanitation Company (GWASCO) whose treatment and distribution capacity is expected to increase 4.5 times the current capacity to improve on their chlorine dosage at the treatment plant to ensure a minimum chlorine residue of 0.2 ppm at the household and community taps.

Socio-Demographic and Water Handling Practices Affecting Quality of Household Drinking Water in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya

Household drinking water quality is dependent on a number of determinants which could be arising at the source, during transportation or due to storage and handling practices. The challenge is even big in urban settings that are often characterized by exponential population growth, increased urbanization, industrialization and poor sanitary facilities. Contaminated water is a leading cause of water borne diseases which are a major public health and policy makers concern. The study was designed to investigate the factors affecting household drinking water quality in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya. The study was conducted in the four zones of Kisii town which include: Mwembe, Jogoo, Nyanchwa and CBD. Demographics, level of awareness in terms of water quality, hygiene and sanitation practices of the study population were studied using questionnaires. The questionnaires were filled by interviewing household heads from 422 sampled households. Qualitative data was also obtained by use of Focused group discussions (FGDs). Perspectives of key people such as public health officers were acquired through Key informant interviews (KIIs). The study found a significant relationship between household size and water quality in terms of presence of total coli forms. A strong relationship was also found between socio-economic factors (level of education, p<0.001 as well as level of income, p<0.001) and drinking water source which in turn affects water quality. The following hygiene and sanitation factors were found to be having significant relationship with presence of E. coli in household drinking water; source of water(p=0.002), transportation container (p=0.029), covering during transportation (p=0.012), storage container (p<0.001), method of drawing from storage container(p<0.001), feces disposal (p=0.001) and garbage disposal method (p=0.04). The conclusion of this study is that good hygiene and sanitation practices are important in ensuring total safety of drinking water at the point of use. There is therefore need for more capacity building in this region to ensure that people do not consume contaminated water which is a major contributing factor to water-borne diseases.

A Bayesian Belief Network model to link sanitary inspection data to drinking water quality in a medium resource setting in rural Indonesia

Assessing water quality and identifying the potential source of contamination, by Sanitary inspections (SI), are essential to improve household drinking water quality. However, no study link the water quality at a point of use (POU), household level or point of collection (POC), and associated SI data in a medium resource setting using a Bayesian Belief Network (BBN) model. We collected water samples and applied an adapted SI at 328 POU and 265 related POC from a rural area in East Sumba, Indonesia. Fecal contamination was detected in 24.4 and 17.7% of 1 ml POC and POU samples, respectively. The BBN model showed that the effect of holistic—combined interventions to improve the water quality were larger compared to individual intervention. The water quality at the POU was strongly related to the water quality at the POC and the effect of household water treatment to improve the water quality was more prominent in the context of better sanitation and hygiene conditions. In addition, it was concluded that the inclusion of extra “external” variable (fullness level of water at storage), besides the standard SI variables, could improve the model’s performance in predicting the water quality at POU. Finally, the BBN approach proved to be able to illustrate the interdependencies between variables and to simulate the effect of the individual and combination of variables on the water quality.

DEVELOPMENT OF A PORTABLE HOUSEHOLD WATER DEVICE FOR IMPROVING DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN NIGERIA

Pipe borne water supplied to Nigerian households may not always meet the accepted drinking water quality standards due to possible water pipe damage. The objective of this study was, therefore, to develop a portable water filter device for improving household drinking water quality. Five litres of representative tap water samples collected from Lagos State University Staff quarters were passed through the developed device. The experimental variables investigated for data acquisition were aeration period of untreated tap water; device backwashing operation cycles and retention times of tap water in the filter device. The results of the analyses of water samples for the various values of the experimental variables showed that the range values of water parameters between the treated and untreated tap water samples were 0.04-0.05, 0.02-0.03, 0.04-0.12, 0.3-0.4, 125-137, 10-20, 3-10 mg/L for barium, chromium, iron, pH, Total Dissolved Solids, hardness and chloride, respectively. Although the developed device helped in improving the quality of the tap water; the p-values for the different experimental variables were greater than α-level of 0.05 indicating the non-significance of using the developed water device. Consequently, future study will consider other experimental variables that will justify the significance of using the developed device.

Irrigation, drinking water quality, and child nutritional status in northern Ethiopia

Abstract In this paper, we investigate the relationship between household drinking water quality and irrigation and child nutrition using primary household survey data and microbiological water sample testings in two rural districts of Ethiopia. Anthropometric measures such as height-for-age z-scores (HAZ), weight-for-age z-scores (WAZ), and weight-for-height z-scores (WHZ) were used to measure stunting, underweight, and wasting, respectively. Our survey results show that 41% of the children are stunted, 26% underweight, and 8% wasted. More than 58% of household's stored drinking water samples were also contaminated with Escherichia coli bacteria. The multivariate regression results suggest that irrigation farming and on-premises water sources are significantly associated with lower HAZ, while uncontaminated household stored drinking water quality is correlated with higher WAZ. The results also reveal that dietary diversity score and the number of antenatal care visits by the primary caretaker are statistically significant predictors of child nutritional status. These findings, however, cast doubt on the hypothesis that irrigated agriculture exclusively has a positive effect on child nutrition outcomes.

Comparing the Bacteriological and Physicochemical Properties of House-hold Drinking Water in Uli and Assessing the Associated Public Health Implications

A study of the comparative analysis of house-hold drinking water quality in Uli, Anambra State was carried out in the Microbiology Laboratory of Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli to evaluate the water, with a view to assessing the public health implication of water from these sources. Trips were made to living homes to obtain samples of their drinking water. Twenty Samples were used for the study. Ten samples were collected from homes that drank straight from the boreholes. Five samples were collected from those that drank sachet water and five from those that drank bottled water. Microbiological and physicochemical parameters were utilized using standard methods. Most probable number (MPN) technique was employed in the bacteriological analysis of the water samples. Biochemical tests were utilized in the identification of the microorganisms. Results based on the cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics, revealed the samples to contain three isolates identified as Escherichiacoli, Staphylococcus aureus and Klebsiella sp. The pH of all the treated water samples were neutral, pH of the borehole water samples was neutral. The temperature of the sachet water samples ranged between 22.5 – 23.5 whereas that the borehole water samples were 22°C – 22.2°C respectively. The total dissolved solid of the treated water samples ranged between 0.82mg/1 and 1.60mg/1, whereas that of the borehole water samples ranged between 7.07 – 20mg/l. The total suspended solids of the treated water samples were not detected whereas that of the borehole water samples ranged between 31 – 55mg/l. Results from total coliform counts for the samples were highest in the boreholes with a total coliform count of 2.4MPN per ml. Faecal coliform count was highest in the borehole samples. The presence of high faecal coliform count in the borehole samples could be attributed to the proximity of the boreholes to pit latrines at distances less than the 30m. This does not conform with WHO recommendations for safe drinking water. From the results, all the untreated drinking water sampled from Uli were unfit for human consumption. This could be responsible for the incessant gastroenteritis, staphylococcal toxic shock syndrome, dysentery and Klebsiella pneumonia observed in Uli and environs. This study suggests that all the drinking water from various sources used by the inhabitants of Uli and environs should be treated before drinking.

Factors affecting microbiological quality of household drinking water supplied by small-scale ultrafiltration systems: A field study

Small scale ultrafiltration (UF) systems have been increasingly used in rural areas for drinking water supply, but their effectiveness in guarantying microbiological water safety at household level has rarely been assessed. Therefore, this study surveyed six representative villages where UF was utilized for full-scale drinking water supply for at least four years. At each village, the influent and the effluent from every stages of the treatment, as well as household tap water, were sampled and analyzed for microbiological indicating parameters, including total coliform count, Escherichia coli count, and heterotrophic plate count. The results were further assessed against current drinking water quality guidelines and standards. It was found that: (1) the qualification rate of household tap water samples varied substantially in the studied villages (0–75%), mainly due to the lack of post-disinfection and the occurrence of fecal contamination during water distribution; (2) UF appeared to be effective in controlling microbial contamination for small-scale systems with high-quality source water, while for systems using inferior source water, fecal contamination during water distribution necessitated continuous post-disinfection; and, (3) existing monitoring of membrane operational parameters cannot ensure microbial quality of treated water, and therefore, routine monitoring of microbial indicators in household water is recommended.

Design of Filtering Systems for Monitoring the Quality of Household Drinking Water

Processing water products sources into ready-to-drink water have been widely circulated in community, one of it's a household drinking water filter with 4 filter stages. Drinking water itself is indispensable for human body. It's because most of the human body is made up of water. To meet the water needs in human body, drinking water is required. Drinking water that consumed by community must meet drinking water standards that have been determined by Minister of Health Decree No. 492/2010, which must meet physical, chemical, biological and radioactive requirements.This research aimed at monitoring several drinking water quality parameters in form of Ph (6.5 - 8.5), Turbidity (&lt;5 NTU) and temperature (22 ? - 27 ?) by using pH sensor, turbidity sensor and temperature sensor, and ON/OFF scheduling of ultraviolet light as an inhibitor of bacterial growth which then monitoring results will be sent via nodeMCU ESP8266 and displayed on WEB. The results of the Ph sensor readings show a reading accuracy of up to 97.28%, on the temperature sensor the reading accuracy reaches 98.7%, while the turbidity sensor has an accuracy level of up to 98.875%, the ON/OFF of UV light goes according to schedule. The application software used able to read and store data in real time from water quality sensor so users can monitor quality of drinking water. Water from filtration of water filter can be categorized as suitable for drinking in accordance with drinking water standard in the Decree of Minister of Health No. 492 in 2010.

Health Risk Assessment of Household Drinking Water in a District in the UAE

The quality of household drinking water in a community of 30 houses in a district in Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates (UAE) was assessed over a period of one year (January to November 2015). Standard analytical techniques were used to screen for water quality parameters and contaminants of concern. Water quality was evaluated in the 30 households at four sampling points: kitchen faucet, bathroom faucet, household water tank, and main water pipe. The sampling points were chosen to help identify the source when an elevated level of a particular contaminant is observed. Water quality data was interpreted by utilizing two main techniques: spatial variation analysis and multivariate statistical techniques. Initial analysis showed that many households had As, Cd, and Pb concentrations that were higher than the maximum allowable level set by UAE drinking water standards. In addition, the water main samples had the highest concentration of the heavy metals compared to other sampling points. Health risk assessment results indicated that approximately 30%, 55%, and 15% of the houses studied had a high, moderate, and low risk from the prolonged exposure to heavy metals, respectively. The analysis can help with planning a spatially focused sampling plan to confirm the study findings and set an appropriate course of action.

Climate Change and Potential Health Effects in Mexican Children.

Climate change (CC) is the most important challenge of our time, a long-term global problem and one of the most serious global threats to human health in the future. CC is the expression of changes in temperature and water cycle, floods and drought events, extreme heat waves and sea level rise. Children are particularly vulnerable because they are highly sensitive to climate changes. The main environmental hazards affecting children’s health are poor household drinking water quality and availability, lack access to adequate sanitary facilities, poor hygiene practices, outdoor and indoor air pollution, vector-borne diseases, chemical hazards, and unintentional injuries. Except for some unintentional injuries, these environmental hazards are associated to CC.