Investigation and Analysis on the Quality of Rural Drinking Water supply in Shijiazhuang in 2011

Objectives To know the hygienic situation and change trend of rural drinking water supply and provide data for the government making decisions.

Methods The survey on the type of water sources, water processing and disinfection in 258 villages of Shijiazhuang city was carried out in dry season(March to April)and wet season(July to August)in 2011. Water samples were collected from 250 central water supply spots(one finished water sample from the outlet and one peripheral water from the end-user of each water plant), and from 8 decentralized water supply spots. A total of 508 samples were tested according to the "Standard Examination Methods for Drinking Water"(GB/T 5750-2006) in this survey.

Results The qualification rate of all water samples was 63.38%(644 in 1 016 water samples); the qualification rate of central water supply spots in dry season(70.60%, 353/500) was higher than that in rainy season(57.0%, 85/500). The qualification rate of finished water(65.00%, 325/500) was better than that of peripheral water(62.5%, 313/500). The qualification rate of water from surface water(24.10%, 27/116) was lower than that from ground water(67.20%, 614/904)(χ² = 25.65, P < 0.01). Ten indexes in water samples from the dry season and 7 indexes in samples from the rainy season exceeded the standard limits; the unqualified rate of microbiological indexes in samples from the rainy season(22.80%~30.10%)was worse than that from the dry season(6.50%~12.20%).

Conclusions The water treatment process of rural central water supply in Shijiazhuang was imperfect, and several water indexes exceeded the standard limits; and much more microbiological indexes exceeded the standard limits. Relevant departments should pay more attention to the safety of rural drinking water.