Evaluation of water quality in public drinking fountains

MH Rebelo, AS Cardoso, SA Feliciano

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 110, 13-21, 2008

This work is a prospective study in the Sintra Municipality. The objective was to
identify and to characterize health risk for the population due to the consumption of
drinking water from public fountains. To achieve this objective, water quality was
evaluated and the physiochemical and bacteriological stability was monitored
throughout the hydrologic year. For this study 42 public drinking fountains were
selected whose water was subjected to bacteriological and physiochemical analysis
from February 2006 to April 2007. The analytical protocol and the assessment of
the obtained results were based on the quality requirements for drinking water,
defined in Portuguese Law 243/2001 of September 5. The bacteriological analyses
were made with monthly periodicity; the physiochemical characterization analyses
were made every two months; the metals were analyzed every six months and the
pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed once during the
period of the study. The obtained results emphasize the poor quality of the water,
observed in almost all the springs studied due, particularly, to bacteriological
alterations. For this reason, water consumption from the studied public fountains in
the Sintra Municipality seems to present a high risk for the population’s health, due
to the potential contamination with pathogenic microorganisms. The risk of chronic
intoxication, though of smaller importance due to the irregular consumption of these
waters, should not be excluded since some springs presented a high content of
nitrate, nickel, lead and manganese. The obtained results provide the necessary
information for health risk management by the Health Authorities, through
implementation of corrective measures for protection of water quality, and/or
alerting the population to the health risk due to the consumption of unsafe water.
Keyword: water quality, drinking water fountains, risk assessment, water spring
quality, contamination of spring waters.
Evaluation of water quality in public drinking fountains
MH Rebelo, AS Cardoso, SA Feliciano

WIT Transactions on Ecology and the Environment 110, 13-21, 2008

This work is a prospective study in the Sintra Municipality. The objective was to
identify and to characterize health risk for the population due to the consumption of
drinking water from public fountains. To achieve this objective, water quality was
evaluated and the physiochemical and bacteriological stability was monitored
throughout the hydrologic year. For this study 42 public drinking fountains were
selected whose water was subjected to bacteriological and physiochemical analysis
from February 2006 to April 2007. The analytical protocol and the assessment of
the obtained results were based on the quality requirements for drinking water,
defined in Portuguese Law 243/2001 of September 5. The bacteriological analyses
were made with monthly periodicity; the physiochemical characterization analyses
were made every two months; the metals were analyzed every six months and the
pesticides and polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons were analyzed once during the
period of the study. The obtained results emphasize the poor quality of the water,
observed in almost all the springs studied due, particularly, to bacteriological
alterations. For this reason, water consumption from the studied public fountains in
the Sintra Municipality seems to present a high risk for the population’s health, due
to the potential contamination with pathogenic microorganisms. The risk of chronic
intoxication, though of smaller importance due to the irregular consumption of these
waters, should not be excluded since some springs presented a high content of
nitrate, nickel, lead and manganese. The obtained results provide the necessary
information for health risk management by the Health Authorities, through
implementation of corrective measures for protection of water quality, and/or
alerting the population to the health risk due to the consumption of unsafe water.
Keyword: water quality, drinking water fountains, risk assessment, water spring
quality, contamination of spring waters

Chemical and bacteriological analysis of the water from

Research, Society and Development 10 (2), e8010212145-e8010212145, 2021

The aim of this study was to evaluate, through chemical and bacteriological
parameters, the water quality from drinking fountains at a Federal Higher Education
Institution, in different climatic periods. Total coliforms and Escherichia coli were
quantified by the enzyme method of the defined substrate; heterotrophic bacteria
by plating in depth in Plate Count Agar; pH and chlorine, using commercial kits.
The research was conducted in two stages: the first one, referring to the initial
analyses during the rainy season, with the verification of the presence of samples
in disagreement with the current legislation; and the second, during the dry period,
after the corrective measures adopted in function the results obtained in the first
stage, totalling 89 samples in both stages, from 49 drinking fountains. In the first
stage, bacteriological evaluations showed that 65.3% of the samples were
inadequate, while in the second, the failure rate was 20.4%. The parameters
evaluated in the two stages revealed that there was no significant result (p˃ 0.05) in
relation to pH, total coliforms and Escherichia coli. Unlike what was observed for
mesophilic aerobic and chlorine content (p< 0.05), which are believed to have been
influenced by climatic conditions, with higher rates of non-compliance in the first
stage, that is, found in the rainy season. These findings demonstrate the existence
of inadequate hygienic-sanitary conditions and the need of frequent monitoring of
water quality, as well as the positive impact after the educational intervention and
the adoption of preventive and corrective measures, aimed at the safety of the
consumer community.
Physicochemical and microbiological analysis of the water
used for drinking fountains in public schools of the city of
Timon-MA.

EM de Oliveira, DM Ribeiro, MG de O Cronemberger, WF de Carvalho, MDP Lima,

PUBVET 12 (5), 2018

The objective of this study was to analyze the physicochemical and microbiological
parameters of water from 10 drinkers used for consumption in public schools in the
city of Timon-MA to verify if they are in accordance with the standards of potability
established by the current legislation. Water used for consumer purposes that is
contaminated by microorganisms or exhibits changes in quality standards that are
not established by legislation when used in excess may be harmful to health. The
10 schools were randomly selected and the samples were collected in two stages
of drinking taps in the morning, in which 10 samples were collected in total with a
15 days interval. The analyzed parameters were pH, electrical conductivity, total
hardness, chlorides, free residual chlorine and microbiological analysis. The results
of the analyzed samples pH, electrical conductivity, total hardness and chloride,
showed that all the waters have chemical composition within the limits established
by Ordinance 2914 of the Ministry of Health, except for concentrations of free
residual chlorine in which 90% of the samples presented content of residual
chlorine outside the standards of the legislation and for the microbiological analysis
30% of the samples presented total coliforms. The absence of more effective
sanitation and monitoring in these establishments may have contributed to the
distribution of contaminated water to consumers.
Drinking water from the Seine in the 18th century, or the
emergence of the filtration fountain
Agathe Euzen, Jean-Paul Haghe

5th IWHA conference, Past and Futures of Water—Tampere, 2007

Among the waters of large rivers, the Seine water is considered, from a long time
ago, one of the best. The Seine water is used and consumed commonly in Paris
during the XVIII century. However, because of the urban expansion and economic
development, the Seine water quality is degrading. Thus, population usage of this
water has changed. The XVIII century is a turning point concerning the relation that
Parisians have with the Seine which they are accustomed to and whose banks are
becoming dirtier. It is also a period during which having access to large amounts of
water is given overwhelming support by the King and the city fathers, which
motivated big projects entrepreneurs. Until 1840, the qualification of “good water” is
mainly assessed by the sensorial approach of its users before relying on scientific
standards produced by chemists and pharmacists; that is what we demonstrated at
the 4th IWHA conference.

The object of this communication devoted to the XVIII century transitional period, is
to analyse the appropriation modes of the Seine water before the creation of
networks. We will also see how its quality evolved under urban and environmental
pressure and the consequences on the Parisians perception of their river and their
use of it.