Levels of Potentially Toxic and Essential Elements in Water and Estimation of Human Health Risks in a River Located at the Interface of Brazilian Savanna and Amazon Biomes (Tocantins River).

The Tocantins-Araguaia basin is one of South America's largest river systems, across three Brazilian states (Maranhão, Tocantins, and Pará), within the Legal Amazon region. Despite draining extensive Cerrado savanna and rainforest ecosystems, it has suffered significant degradation, notably in the past 40 years. Human activities, including agricultural expansion, deforestation, and the introduction of non-native species, have worsened the environmental damage, which is alarming since many residents and villages along the middle Tocantins River rely on it for water supply, recreation, and fishing. This study assessed the concentration of potentially toxic and essential elements in water samples from four sampling sites distributed along the middle Tocantins River. The monitoring occurred throughout 2023, involving the measurement of parameters both on-site and in the laboratory. Water quality and its health implications were evaluated using the Weighted Arithmetic Water Quality Index (WAWQI), the Water Quality Index (WQI), and the health risk assessment index. The levels of aluminum, copper, iron, magnesium, and selenium exceeded legal standards. Seasonal fluctuations indicate a complex dynamic influenced by climatic or seasonal factors, with February showing the highest values. Site P1, located in urban areas, exhibited elevated mean concentrations for conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and chlorophyll, indicating the need for continuous monitoring. The nitrogen concentrations at P1 raise concerns regarding drinking water quality, which is a concern for the region's residents who use untreated river water. Despite seasonal variations in element concentrations, the overall WAWQI categorized all sections as "Excellent," and the WQI rated as "Good." Human health risk assessments detected no risks, but continuous monitoring and interventions are crucial for sustained water quality improvement.

Investigation of groundwater and its seasonal variation in a rural region in Natore, Bangladesh.

In Bangladesh, groundwater is the most widely used source of drinking water for rural communities. However, the groundwater quality is degraded by natural contaminants and anthropogenic pollution. Groundwater is a reliable and sustainable source of safe water for irrigation and domestic purposes, especially during the dry season. The water quality assessment data for the study area was not found in the literature. This study aims to assess groundwater quality and seasonal variation in a rural area of five unions of Bagatipara Upazila, Natore, and its suitability for drinking purposes by measuring the Water Quality Index (WQI). The groundwater of five unions, namely Dayarampur, Bagatipara, Faguardiar, Jamnagar, and Pacca, has been selected for investigation. The electrical conductivity (EC), color, and turbidity exceeded the ECR guidelines. EC showed a positive correlation with total dissolved solids (TDS), total solids (TS), and turbidity. On the other hand, dissolved oxygen (DO), hardness, chloride, carbon-di-oxide (CO2), and iron (Fe) concentrations varied based on the location of the sampling points. The bacteriological parameters TC and E. coli were found in most of the samples, which indicate the potential sources of contaminants such as septic tank leakage and inadequate waste disposal systems. The groundwater quality was found not to be influenced by seasonal variation except by pH, DO, and CO2. The Water Quality Index (WQI) spatial mapping demonstrated that during the post-monsoon period, the water quality of the central part of Bagatipara upazila was in 'good' condition, which was in Bagatipara, Fagurdiar, and Pacca unions, whereas during the pre-monsoon season, the 'good' condition was found very limited to Fagurdiar union only. The study revealed that the groundwater of Bagtipara Upazila is not suitable for drinking water due to the presence of TC and E. Coli as well as 'poor' to 'unsuitable' conditions in most of the areas based on WQI.

Hydro-chemical characteristics of biring and Tangting Rivers (Nepal) and evaluation of water quality for drinking and irrigation purposes.

Although river water is vital for drinking, irrigation and domestic needs, it faces threats from natural processes and human activities. Small and medium-sized rivers, especially in Nepal, remain understudied despite their vital importance in providing water to densely populated areas. This study evaluated the suitability for drinking and irrigation and the hydro-chemical characteristics of the Biring and Tangting rivers in Koshi province, Nepal. The results showed that turbidity, pH, EC, TDS, TH, NH4+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, Cl-, SO42-, HCO3- and NO3- values of all sampling sites in the Biring and Tangting rivers, except for the turbidity value of 10.39 NTU recorded in the PT9 site of the Tangting River, did not exceed maximum limit values set for drinking water. However, according to Water Quality Index results, the water of both rivers was in poor condition for drinking due to domestic wastewater discharges and cremation activities which caused high NH4+ levels. The major cations in both rivers were listed as Ca2⁺ > Na⁺ > K⁺ > Mg2⁺, while the major anions were listed as HCO3⁻ > Cl⁻ > SO42⁻ > NO3⁻. Gibbs and Piper diagrams showed that geogenic weathering of carbonate rocks prevailing in the region affected the hydrochemistry in both rivers. Evaluation based on seven different irrigation indices and US salinity laboratory diagram revealed that the water of both rivers was suitable for irrigation despite some magnesium-related limitations.

Assessment of drinking water quality using Water Quality Index and synthetic pollution index in urban areas of mega city Lahore: a GIS-based approach.

The aim of the present study was to assess the drinking water quality in the selected urban areas of Lahore and to comprehend the public health status by addressing the basic drinking water quality parameters. Total 50 tap water samples were collected from groundwater in the two selected areas of district Lahore i.e., Gulshan-e-Ravi (site 1) and Samanabad (site 2). Water samples were analyzed in the laboratory to elucidate physico-chemical parameters including pH, turbidity, temperature, total dissolved solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC), dissolved oxygen (DO), total hardness, magnesium hardness, and calcium hardness. These physico-chemical parameters were used to examine the Water Quality Index (WQI) and Synthetic Pollution Index (SPI) in order to characterize the water quality. Results of th selected physico-chemical parameters were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines to determine the quality of drinking water. A GIS-based approach was used for mapping water quality, WQI, and SPI. Results of the present study revealed that the average value of temperature, pH, and DO of both study sites were within the WHO guidelines of 23.5 °C, 7.7, and 6.9 mg/L, respectively. The TDS level of site 1 was 192.56 mg/L (within WHO guidelines) and whereas, in site 2 it was found 612.84 mg/L (higher than WHO guidelines), respectively. Calcium hardness of site 1 and site 2 was observed within the range from 25.04 to 65.732 mg/L but, magnesium hardness values were higher than WHO guidelines. The major reason for poor water quality is old, worn-out water supply pipelines and improper waste disposal in the selected areas. The average WQI was found as 59.66 for site 1 and 77.30 for site 2. Results showed that the quality of the water was classified as "poor" for site 1 and "very poor " for site 2. There is a need to address the problem of poor water quality and also raise the public awareness about the quality of drinking water and its associated health impacts.

Point-of-use chlorine residuals and disinfection byproduct occurrences in rural households served by public water utilities in Appalachian Virginia.

We characterized concentrations of trihalomethanes (THMs), a measure of disinfection byproducts (DBPs), in tap water samples collected from households with utility-supplied water in two rural counties in Appalachian Virginia, and assessed associations with pH, free chlorine, and metal ions which can impact THM formation. Free chlorine concentrations in all samples (n = 27 homes) complied with EPA drinking water guidelines, though 7% (n = 2) of first draw samples and 11% (n = 3) of 5-min flushed-tap water samples exceeded the US Safe Drinking Water Act (SDWA) maximum contaminant level (MCL) for THM (80 ppb). Regression analyses showed that free chlorine and pH were positively associated with the formation of THM levels above SDWA MCLs (OR = 1.04, p = 0.97 and OR = 1.74, p = 0.79, respectively), while temperature was negatively associated (OR = 0.78, p = 0.38). Of the eight utilities serving study households, samples from water served by three different utilities exceeded the EPA MCL for THM. Overall, these findings do not indicate substantial exposures to DBPs for rural households with utility-supplied water in this region of southwest Virginia. However, given the observed variability in THM concentrations between and across utilities, and established adverse health impacts associated with chronic and acute DBP exposure, more research on DBPs in rural Central Appalachia is warranted.

Analysing the interlinkage between diarrhoea and drinking water faecal contamination in India.

Diarrhoea is one of the major waterborne diseases spread through the faecal-oral route causing over 10 million cases and over 1,000 deaths per year in India. This study critically evaluates the interlinkage between bacteriological water quality, i.e. faecal coliforms and diarrhoea cases for the three pre-pandemic years 2017, 2018 and 2019 based on multiple sources. With around 17% of households tap water connectivity as of August 2019, the majority of the Indian population depends on raw groundwater (GW) and surface water sources. For this, faecal coliform (FC) levels in surface and GW have been mapped at district levels using data from India's National Water Quality Monitoring Programme. Health Management Information System's data on diarrhoea have been used to understand the monthly and district-wise variation of diarrhoea. The trends of FC, diarrhoea inpatient cases, and diarrhoea inpatient rates have been discussed. The analysis showed issues associated with the reliability and usefulness of these datasets with 43% of total India districts with no reported FC values for the study period. This study reveals a clear gap in the interlinkage between diarrhoea and bacteriological water quality with the unavailability of granular water quality data as a major challenge.

Spatial and seasonal groundwater quality assessment for drinking suitability using index and machine learning approach.

Spatial and seasonal evaluation and monitoring of groundwater (GW) quality is essential for the sustainable management of this priceless resource and the provision of safe drinking water. Nevertheless, GW quality appraisal was not given due attention in the current study area (flat terrain part of the Tana sub-basin). This study sought to assess the seasonal and regional physicochemical GW quality parameters for drinking appropriateness using the drinking water quality index (DWQI) and support vector machine (SVM). The main cations in both the dry and wet study seasons were, in decreasing order, Na+, Ca2+, Mg2+, K+, and Fe2+, according to the results. Conversely, the main anions were HCO3-, CO32-, Cl- or NO3-, SO42- and PO43-, ordered from higher to lower. During the two research seasons, Ca-HCO3 and Na-HCO3 were the predominant water types based on Piper diagram results. Reverse ion exchange and evaporation were the principal hydrogeochemical processes that control the hydrogeochemistry identified by Durov and Gibbs diagrams, respectively. Excellent GW quality class for drinking was demonstrated by the majority of geographical and seasonal DWQI readings over the two seasons. Nevertheless, during the rainy season, there was a noticeable decline in the GW quality condition around the northern shores of Lake Tana. Therefore, it is advised to implement comprehensive GW quality protection measures and improve system management to mitigate pollution to reduce health hazards in the examined region.

Environmental impact assessment due to the intake of uranium contained in surface waters in a semi-arid region in Brazil.

In Santa Quitéria City, part of the population uses surface water for potation. These waters do not undergo any treatment before consumption. As the region has a deposit of uranium, assessing water quality becomes important. In the present study, the uranium activity concentration (AC) in becquerels per liter was determined in water samples from six points. Univariate statistics showed differences between the soluble and the particulate fraction (soluble AC > particulate AC). The particulate fraction showed no variation in AC among the six points. On the other hand, the soluble fraction and the total fraction presented different ACs between them. The multivariate statistics allowed to separate the soluble from the particulate fraction of the points. The same tools applied to the total fraction made it possible to differentiate the sampling points, grouping them ((#1, #2); (#3, #4), and (#5, #6)). The maximum mean value of AC found was 0.177 Bq∙L-1, corresponding to 25% of the chemical toxicity limit (0.72 Bq∙L-1). The maximum mean dose rate, 2.25 µSv∙year-1, is lower than the considered negligible dose rate (> 10 µSv∙year-1). The excess lifetime cancer risk was 10-6, two orders of magnitude smaller than the threshold considered for taking action. The assessment parameters used in this work indicate that the risk due to the uranium intake by the local population is negligible.

Assessment of drinking water quality and health risk using water quality index and multiple computational models: a case study of Yangtze River in suburban areas of Wuhan, central China, from 2016 to 2021.

Water quality, increasingly recognized for its significant impact on health, is garnering heightened attention. Previous studies were limited by the number of water quality indicators and the duration of analysis. This study assessed the drinking water quality and its associated health risk in suburban areas of Wuhan, a city in central China, from 2016 to 2021. We collected 368 finished water samples and 1090 tap water samples and tested these for 37 different indicators. The water quality was evaluated using the water quality index, with trends over time analyzed via the Mann-Kendall test. Furthermore, an artificial neural network model was employed for future water quality prediction. Our findings indicated that the water quality in rural Wuhan was generally good and had an improvement from 2016 to 2021. The qualification and excellent rates were 98.91% and 86.81% for finished water, and 97.89% and 78.07% for tap water, respectively. The drinking water quality was predicted to maintain satisfactory in 2022 and 2023. Additionally, principal component analysis revealed that the primary sanitary issues in the water were poor sensory properties, elevated metal contents, high levels of dissolved solids, and microbial contamination. These issues were likely attributable to domestic and industrial waste discharge and aging water pipelines. The health risks associated with the long-term consumption of this water have been steadily decreasing over the years, underscoring the effectiveness of Wuhan's ongoing water management efforts.

Heavy metal geochemistry and toxicity assessment of water environment from Ib valley coalfield, India: Implications to contaminant source apportionment and human health risks.

The present study aims to investigate the hydrogeochemical evolution of heavy metals and assesses impacts of mining activities on the groundwater resources and potential human health risks in the coal mining areas of Ib valley coalfield. In this perspective, a total of one hundred and two mine water and groundwater samples were collected from different locations. The water samples were analysed for some selected heavy metals i.e. Mn, Cu, Pb, Zn, Ni, Co, As, Se, Al, Sr, Ba, Cd, Cr, V and Fe using ICP-MS. In addition, pH and SO42- concentration were also measured following APHA procedure. The water pH in the Ib valley coalfields ranged from 3.26 to 8.18 for mine water and 5.23 to 8.52 for groundwater, indicating acidic to alkaline nature of water. Mn in mine water and Zn in groundwater environment were observed as the most dominant metals. The water hazard index (WHI) reflects that around 80% of mine water are non-toxic (WHI<5), 5% slightly toxic (510) and 15% extremely toxic (WHI>15). Relatively high pH and low concentration of dissolved metals and SO42- in groundwater as compared to mine water indicate lesser impact of mining activities. The calculated drinking water quality index (DWQI) suggests that Mn, Al, Ni and Fe in mine water and Mn, Fe, Ni and Pb in groundwater were the major objectionable metals which caused the water quality deterioration for drinking uses. Further, the non-carcinogenic health risk assessment for adult male, female and child populations identifies Co, Mn, Ni as the key elements making the water hazardous for human health. Comparatively higher ratio of ingestion rate and body weight in child population might be causing higher health risks in child population as compared to adult male and adult female population.

Introducing bacterial community turnover times to elucidate temporal and spatial hotspots of biological instability in a large Austrian drinking water distribution network.

Ensuring biological stability in drinking water distribution systems (DWDSs) is important to reduce the risk of aesthetic, operational and hygienic impairments of the distributed water. Drinking water after treatment often changes in quality during transport due to interactions with pipe-associated biofilms, temperature increases and disinfectant residual decay leading to potential biological instability. To comprehensively assess the potential for biological instability in a large chlorinated DWDS, a tool-box of bacterial biomass and activity parameters was applied, introducing bacterial community turnover times (BaCTT) as a direct, sensitive and easy-to-interpret quantitative parameter based on the combination of 3H-leucine incorporation with bacterial biomass. Using BaCTT, hotspots and periods of bacterial growth and potential biological instability could be identified in the DWDS that is fed by water with high bacterial growth potential. A de-coupling of biomass from activity parameters was observed, suggesting that bacterial biomass parameters depict seasonally fluctuating raw water quality rather than processes related to biological stability of the finished water in the DWDS. BaCTT, on the other hand, were significantly correlated to water age, disinfectant residual, temperature and a seasonal factor, indicating a higher potential of biological instability at more distant sampling sites and later in the year. As demonstrated, BaCTT is suggested as a novel, sensitive and very useful parameter for assessing the biological instability potential. However, additional studies in other DWDSs are needed to investigate the general applicability of BaCTT depending on water source, applied treatment processes, biofilm growth potential on different pipe materials, or size, age and complexity of the DWDS.

Effect of Climatic Condition, Type of Trough and Water Cleanliness on Drinking Behavior in Dairy Cows.

Increasing ambient temperatures lead to higher water intake and higher risks of microbial growth in cattle troughs. This study aims to analyze drinking water quality and dairy cows' drinking behavior (n = 8081 drinking episodes) on a commercial farm with 135 and 144 lactating cows in two climatic conditions, considering trough type and cleanliness, respectively. Daily video recording was conducted at two trough types (two open troughs, 70 L; two-valve troughs, variable volume of 5-15 L) in the first two hours after feeding (n = 60 days in total) under cold (December 2019-February 2020) and warm ambient temperatures (September 2021). The trough cleaning scheme allowed cows to access either cleaned or uncleaned troughs in each system. Water quality was tested daily and analyzed at the beginning and end of the trials. In warmer ambient temperatures, fewer and-at uncleaned troughs and open troughs-shorter drinking episodes were recorded, with longer but fewer water intake periods, longer drinking breaks, and fewer sips (p < 0.0001). Considering the drinking episodes, respectively, water intake and drinking breaks in number and duration, the number of sips and the number of agonistic behaviors might optimize dairy cow water supply and hygiene management.

Sustainable governance of drinking water conservation areas based on adaptive thresholds.

Drinking water quality is integral to the Sustainable Development Goals framework. At the present, China's drinking water conservation faces a number of challenges that are partially brought on by strict conservation measures that don't fully take into account human-land conflict and sustainable development. Taking the idea of adaptive governance, this study seeks to identify adaptive thresholds and adaptive solutions for compatible drinking water conservation and local development. Pressure and resistance to drinking water quality in its status, future potential, and adaptive thresholds were explored to identify sustainable governance for the Baimei Conservation Area, Fujian Province. Field research, local governance forums, and the Soil and Water Assessment Tool (SWAT) model were utilized to explore the drinking water quality pressure and resistance to drinking water quality. In order to uncover potential future changes in pressure and resistance, suitability analyses and multi-scenario simulations were used to examine the status quo, pressure, and resistance scenarios. Adaptive thresholds were then identified through SWAT modeling of each scenario to guarantee the drinking water quality is greater than Class II in the Core Conservation Area and Class Ⅲ in 2nd-grade Conservation Area, respectively. The research finds that construction land development and farming are the key pressures on drinking water quality, and forests and wetlands are the primary resistances. The expansion of construction lands and the increased wetlands was centered on potential future scenarios because farming has no room for growth and forests are already heavily covered. The adaptive threshold of construction land expansion is identified to be 10% without new wetlands but can be 20% by adding 10% wetlands in subbasins, 5, 8, and 9. This study confirms the potential of adaptive sustainability for drinking water conservation areas. A similar analysis procedure can also be adapted to enhance adaptive governance for the sustainability of other conservation areas nationally and globally.

Drinking water quality evaluation in supply systems in Wuhan, China: application of entropy weight water quality index and multivariate statistical analysis.

In this study, source water, finished water, and tap water were sampled monthly from two large drinking water treatment plants in Wuhan city, China for 12 months where physicochemical and microbiological parameters were measured, and the complex monitoring data was analyzed using single-factor assessment method, entropy weight water quality index (EWQI), and multivariate statistical techniques (i.e., cluster analysis (CA), discriminant analysis, and correlation analysis). The results of the single-factor assessment method showed that the total nitrogen pollution was the main problem in the source water quality, and the finished and tap water met the required quality standards. The EWQI values indicated that the overall quality of the source, finished, and tap water samples was "Excellent." In addition, strengthening monitoring of parameters with high entropy weights, including Pb, Hg, sulfide, Cr in surface water and Hg, aerobic bateria count, and As in drinking water, were suggested, as they were prone to drastic changes. Spatial CA grouped the finished and tap water samples from the same plant into a cluster. Temporal CA grouped 12 sampling times of source water into Cluster 1 (June), Cluster 2 (April-May, and July-November), and Cluster 3 (December-March). Concerning finished and tap water, except the October was regrouped, the result of temporal CA was consistent to that of the source water. Based on similar characteristics of water samples, monitoring sites and frequency can be optimized. Moreover, stepwise discriminant analysis indicated that the spatiotemporal variations in water quality among CA-groups were enough to be explained by four or five parameters, which provided a basis for the selection of monitoring parameters. The results of correlation analysis showed that few pairwise correlations were both significant (P < 0.05) and stable across sampling sites, suggesting that the number of monitoring parameters was difficult to reduce through substitution. In summary, this study illustrates the usefulness of EWQI and the multivariate statistical techniques in the water quality assessment and monitoring strategy optimization.

Association of drought conditions and heavy rainfalls with the quality of drinking water in Barcelona (2010-2022).

BACKGROUND: Climate change influences the incidence and scope of climate extreme events that affect communities and the environment around the world. In an urban context such as Barcelona, these climate extremes can have a negative impact on drinking water quality. The worsening of drinking water quality can have important repercussions on human health, leading to the appearance of different diseases. OBJECTIVE: Investigate the association between climate extremes, in particular heavy rainfall events and drought conditions, and the drinking water quality in the city of Barcelona from 2010 to 2022. METHODS: We conducted a daily retrospective time-series study using data covering 13 years of daily monitoring of conductivity, nickel, turbidity and trihalomethanes parameters of raw water in the Llobregat River catchment area and treated water in the Drinking Water Treatment Plant (DWTP) Sant Joan Despí. We used river flow as a proxy for drought conditions and heavy rainfall events. We analyzed short-term associations between river flow rate and quality parameters in raw and treated water using generalized linear regression with distributed lag-non-linear models (DLNM). RESULTS: A low flow, as an indicator of drought condition or low rainfall, was significantly associated with an increase in conductivity in raw water and nickel in both raw and treated water. A high flow, as an indicator of heavy rainfall events, was significantly associated with an increase of turbidity in raw water, and a decrease in all other quality parameters. IMPACT STATEMENT: This study provides novel evidence that climate extremes have an impact on the quality of drinking water in urban areas with a Mediterranean climate. The findings of this study are significant because they suggest that as the frequency and intensity of climate extremes increase due to climate change, there will be further challenges in managing and treating drinking water, which could have a detrimental effect on public health. This study serves as an important reminder of the need to strengthen and accelerate adaptation actions in water management to ensure an adequate supply of drinking water that protects the people's health.

Four buildings and a flush: Lessons from degraded water quality and recommendations on building water management.

A reduction in building occupancy can lead to stagnant water in plumbing, and the potential consequences for water quality have gained increasing attention. To investigate this, a study was conducted during the COVID-19 pandemic, focusing on water quality in four institutional buildings. Two of these buildings were old (>58 years) and large (>19,000 m2), while the other two were new (>13 years) and small (<11,000 m2). The study revealed significant decreases in water usage in the small buildings, whereas usage remained unchanged in the large buildings. Initial analysis found that residual chlorine was rarely detectable in cold/drinking water samples. Furthermore, the pH, dissolved oxygen, total organic carbon, and total cell count levels in the first draw of cold water samples were similar across all buildings. However, the ranges of heavy metal concentrations in large buildings were greater than observed in small buildings. Copper (Cu), lead (Pb), and manganese (Mn) sporadically exceeded drinking water limits at cold water fixtures, with maximum concentrations of 2.7 mg Cu L-1, 45.4 µg Pb L-1, 1.9 mg Mn L-1. Flushing the plumbing for 5 min resulted in detectable residual at fixtures in three buildings, but even after 125 min of flushing in largest and oldest building, no residual chlorine was detected at the fixture closest to the building's point of entry. During the pandemic, the building owner conducted fixture flushing, where one to a few fixtures were operated per visit in buildings with hundreds of fixtures and multiple floors. However, further research is needed to understand the fundamental processes that control faucet water quality from the service line to the faucet. In the absence of this knowledge, building owners should create and use as-built drawings to develop flushing plans and conduct periodic water testing.

Safe Today, Unsafe Tomorrow: Tanzanian Households Experience Variability in Drinking Water Quality.

Measuring Escherichia coli in a single-grab sample of stored drinking water is often used to characterize drinking water quality. However, if water quality exhibits variability temporally, then one-time measurement schemes may be insufficient to adequately characterize the quality of water that people consume. This study uses longitudinal data collected from 193 households in peri-urban Tanzania to assess variability in stored water quality and to characterize uncertainty with different data collection schemes. Households were visited 5 times over the course of a year. At each visit, information was collected on water management practices, and a sample of stored drinking water was collected for E. coli enumeration. Water quality was poor for households, with 80% having highly contaminated (>100 CFU per 100 mL) water during at least one visit. There was substantial variability of water quality for households, with only 3% of households having the same category (low, medium, or high) of water quality for all five visits. These data suggest a single sample would inaccurately characterize a household's drinking water quality over the course of a year and lead to misestimates of population level access to safe drinking water.

Estimation of Access to Safe Drinking Water to Households in Etawah District: A Cross-Sectional Study.

CONTEXT: Unsafe drinking water causes diarrheal disease and environmental enteropathy. The quality of water is determined by its physical, chemical, and biological characteristics. Water sources have a significant impact on household members' health, particularly children. To combat this, India is committed to providing household tap connections to ensure the delivery of safe drinking water with the "Jal Jeevan Mission." AIMS: This study aims to estimate the access to safe drinking water and the physical and chemical qualities of water (qualitatively) in the urban and rural areas of Etawah district, India. SETTINGS AND DESIGN: A cross-sectional study was conducted in Etawah district from January 2020 to December 2021. The study subjects were the eldest female of the family. A total of 312 females were included. The data collected were analyzed using IBM SPSS Statistics for Windows, version 25 (released 2017; IBM Corp., Armonk, New York, United States) for descriptive analysis. RESULTS: In the present study, 76.3% (238/312) of households in the urban and rural areas had access to safe drinking water (here, the meaning of the word "safe" is based on its operational definition). A total of 130 (83.3%) households in rural areas and only 21 (13.5%) in urban areas had private supply as the primary water source. The physical and chemical qualities of water were within the requirement (acceptable limit) and permissible limit in all the study areas, so the water is considered safe for drinking. CONCLUSIONS: This study reported that 76.3% (238) households had access to safe drinking water according to the operational definition. The major public source of drinking water was public-supplied tap water, and in private sources, submersible or boreholes were the most common.

Reflecting on changes in the drinking and irrigation water quality of rivers Beas, Satluj and confluence waters.

Prevention and control of water pollution for maintaining and restoring the wholesomeness of rivers are unavoidable. The current water quality approach of designated best use has some limitations such as it is non-integrative and inflexible with regard to the consideration of variables and does not provide a separate rating scale for a given designated use. We thus used water quality index approach proposed by the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME WQI) to evaluate and develop a separate rating system for drinking and irrigation purposes of rivers Beas, Satluj and their confluence water of the Indian Punjab using information collected over 4 years (2016 to 2019). River Beas exhibited better water quality compared to river Satluj for irrigation as well as for drinking. The overall drinking water quality index (DWQI) for Beas was marginal (45.5), whereas it was poor for Satluj (37.7) and confluence waters (40.1). The spatial variation in DWQI was greater for Satluj compared to Beas and confluence waters reflecting the effect of dumping of untreated industrial and domestic waste waters. Variables such as Total coliform (T. coli), dissolved oxygen (DO), turbidity and biological oxygen demand (BOD) contributed to the deterioration of DWQI. The irrigation water quality index (IWQI) was good for Beas (86), marginal for Satluj (60.1) and fair for confluence waters (71.2). Faecal coliform (F. coli), Kelly ratio (KR) and %Na contributed to the deterioration of IWQI. Calcium-magnesium-bicarbonate (Ca-Mg-HCO3) was the dominant water type in Beas and confluence waters, whereas for Satluj, in addition to Ca-Mg-HCO3, sodium-potassium-chloride-sulphate and mixed water types were also prevalent. The river waters witnessed salinity hazard but did not pose sodicity hazard except at a few locations of Satluj. The study indicates the need to take location specific measures for improving river water quality for drinking as well as irrigation purposes. The current status of water quality calls for an urgent need to formulate stringent policy regulations to maintain the surface water quality.

Transfer of Bisphenol A and Trace Metals from Plastic Packaging to Mineral Water in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

The consumption of packaged water is growing rapidly in both urban and rural centres in Burkina Faso. Bisphenol A (BPA) and trace metals are among the compounds used in the manufacture of plastic packaging, and their presence in water can pose a health risk to consumers due to their alleged toxicity. Therefore, this study explores the transfer of these compounds from plastic packaging to mineral water in Sudano-Sahelian climatic conditions. Ten samples of packaged sachet water commercialised in Ouagadougou were studied. An absence of BPA in the borehole water used to produce packaged water has been shown. The transfer of BPA into mineral water increases with storage temperature. The BPA that appears in packaged water degrades over time. BPA concentrations ranged from 0 to 0.38 mg/L after two weeks of storage, 0 to 0.8 mg/L after four weeks of storage and 0 to 0.35 mg/L after 8 weeks of storage. Analysis of the trace metals showed steadily increasing concentrations from the second to the sixth weeks, with concentrations ranging from 0 to 9.7 µg/L for cadmium and from 0 to 0.13 mg/L for iron in the sachet water samples.