Objectives To analyze the quality of drinking water in main urban districts of Taizhou and to prevent and control water-borne infectious diseases.

Methods The collection of water samples was based on the scheme of drinking water surveillance in Taizhou downtown; samples were tested according to the Standard Examination Methods for Drinking Water (GB/T 5750-2006), and the test Results were evaluated by the standards for drinking water quality (GB 5749-2006).

Results The qualification rates of finished water from water plants and tap water in downtown were 100.00% (24/24) and 95.61% (566/592) in 2010-2012;on the contrary, those in townships were 90.91% (40/44) and 81.82% (36/44), respectively.The qualification rate in secondary water supplies was 92.50% (111/120).The qualification rates of finished water from water plants in downtown and township presented no statistical difference (P > 0.05), but the qualification rates of tap water in downtown and townships showed statistical difference (P < 0.05).Additionally, the qualification rates of tap water in downtown and from secondary water supplies showed no statistical difference (P > 0.05).The unqualified indexes for finished water were free chlorine and ammonia nitrogen, for tap water were the total counts of bacteria, free chlorine, ammonia nitrogen and iron, and for secondary water supplies were the total counts of bacteria, free chlorine and iron.

Conclusion The quality of drinking water in downtown were high, but some indexes did not reach the corresponding criteria, further enforcement on supervision and administration is needed.