Analysis on Sanitary Status of Drinking Water Quality in Rural Areas of Gansu Province in 2008—2010

Objectives To understand and master the situation of drinking water in rural areas of Gansu Province.

Methods Twenty two counties in Gansu province were selected to build a quality monitoring network for rural drinking water supply. Water samples from centralized and decentralized water supply in these areas were detected in dry and wet period.

Results A total of 1 646 samples from 611 monitoring points were selected. The qualified rate of water samples from centralized water supply was 42.17%. The qualified rate of water samples from decentralized water supply was 27.48%. The qualified rate of 13 indicators was higher than 95%. Total hardness, total number of colonies and total coliform bacteria exceeded the standards seriously.

Conclusions The quality of centralized and decentralized water supply in the rural areas of Gansu Province was poor. Increasing the coverage of tap water, regulating the operation and management of centralized water supply, strengthening the environmental pollution control, and monitoring water quality regularly in rural areas are suggested.