Water quality deterioration: A study of household drinking water quality in rural Honduras

Abstract

There is growing awareness that drinking-water can become contaminated following its collection from communal sources such as wells and tap-stands, as well as during its storage in the home. This study evaluated the post-supply drinking-water quality in three rural Honduran communities using either a protected hand-dug well or borehole supply. Water management practices were documented as a basis for further research to improve household drinking-water quality. Membrane filtration was used to compare thermotolerant coliform levels in samples taken from community wells and household drinking-water storage containers. Over a 2-year period, water quality was examined in 43 households and detailed observation made of typical collection, storage and usage practice. Substantial water quality deterioration occurred between the points of supply and consumption. Deterioration occurred regularly and frequently, and was experienced by the majority of study households. Only source water quality appeared to be a significant factor in determining household water quality. None of the storage factors examined, i.e. covering the container, type of container, the material from which the container was made, and hours stored, made any significant difference to the stored water quality. Observation of household water management shows that there are multiple points during the collection to use sequence where pollution could occur. The commonality of water management practice would be an asset in introducing appropriate intervention measures.

A Randomized Controlled Trial of the Plastic-Housing BioSand Filter and Its Impact on Diarrheal Disease in Copan, Honduras

“…Stored filtered water had higher concentrations of E. coli than water sampled directly from the filtrate outlet tube of the plastic-housing BSF, which could have been because of bacteria recontamination or regrowth. 24 Within intervention households, the plastic-housing BSF achieved a mean 61% reduction of E. coli from source water.…”

“…Informed consent was obtained from the primary respondent during the initial household visit who was defined as the primary caretaker for the children and responsible for household water management practices (usually an adult female). An initial cross-sectional study in all communities took place April [14][15][16][17][18][19][20][21][22][23][24][25][26][27][28][29][30]2008. The purpose of the initial phase was to collect data on diarrheal disease prevalence at the household level as well as potential risk factors of diarrheal disease, including socioeconomic status, education, knowledge about diarrheal disease, and access to water sources and sanitation.…”

Drinking water and sanitation: household survey for knowledge and practice in rural area, Magudanchavadi, Salem district, India

“…24,25 The key to providing microbiologically clean drinking water lies in understanding the various mechanisms by which water gets contaminated, and formulating interventions at critical points to decrease and prevent contamination of drinking water. 26 Approximately 45 (15.3%) households did not use any treatment for purification of water due to knowledge about clean drinking water and water source like river, pond significantly impact on water treatment practice whereas in India average 72.7 per cent of the rural population does not use any method of water disinfection. 27 Bhattacharya et al also found 72% of household don"t follow any treatment and drink it as it.…”

Challenges to Sustainable Safe Drinking Water: A Case Study of Water Quality and Use across Seasons in Rural Communities in Limpopo Province, South Africa

“…Rural areas are the most affected, and residents resort to the collection of water from wells, ponds, springs, lakes, rivers and rainwater harvesting to meet their domestic water needs [19][20][21][22][23][24]. Water from such sources is often consumed without any form of treatment [12,19,21].…”