Analysis on Risk of Household Stored Water from Rural Central Water Supply in Shijiazhuang

Objectives To explore the hygienic situation of household stored water and analyze the risk factors influencing its quality.

Methods Stored water samples from 400 households in 5 counties were selected by stratified random sampling methods. The quality of stored water was compared with the finished water from the outlet of rural central water factories, the risk factors for household stored water were analyzed by Logistic regression.

Results The qualified rate for visible subjects, total bacteria counts, counts of coliform and thermotolerant coliform was decreased significantly in stored water (χ²=4.146, 6.388, 4.003 and 4.745, P < 0.05). The Logistic regression showed that the risk factors resulting in unqualified bacteria counts in stored water were the exposure of fetching water utensils (OR=9.56, 95% CI:3.71~24.58), infrequently cleaning the container (OR=4.71, 95% CI:1.83~12.14) and overtime storage (OR=2.63, 95% CI:1.02~6.78); the protective factors were the storage container covered with tight lid (OR=0.47, 95% CI:0.28~0.78) and the cleanness of storage container (OR=0.71, 95% CI:0.22~2.22).

Conclusions Rural household stored water is vulnerable to microbial contamination; inadequate management of stored water was one of the main factors for the unsafe household stored water.