Survey on Drinking Water Hygienic Status for Centralized Drinking Water Supply Projects in Rural Areas,Guangdong Province,2010

[Objective]To investigate the hygienic status of drinking water produced by safe drinking water projects in rural areas of Guangdong province,so as to provide scientific basis for making decisions by government.[Methods]A survey of water hygienic status was conducted in the safe drinking water projects constructed after 2000 in Guanddong province.The water samples were collected from waterworks and tap water in dry season(March) and rainy season(July to August),respectively,and evaluated for aesthetic,microbiologic and chemical indexes.[Results]A total of 843 drinking water projects were surveyed.12.57% had a daily output under 100 tons,and only 7.35% had an output over 3 000 tons.Only 17.79% adopted comprehensive water treatment process(i.e.coagulation,sedimentation,filtration and disinfection),whereas 15.78% did not provide any treatment.Up to 80.43% had no disinfection equipment and 78.17% failed to provide effective disinfection.58.05% and 69.18% of water samples tested up to the standard respectively in the dry season and rainy season.The three lowest qualified rates for rural water single indicator were fecal coliforms,bacterial count and PH value,with a rate of 67.22%(939/1 397),91.84%(1 283/1 397),93.45%(1326/1419)and 78.40%(1198/1528),94.83%(1 449/1 528),94.18%(1 439/1 528)in dry season and rainy season,respectively.[Conclusion]The inadequate supply of safe water,absence of water treatment facilities and poor drinking water quality have represented a potential health risk in Guangdong rural areas.