Potential Health Impact of Drinking Water Sources: Case Study From Serbia

Abstract

Drinking water quality has a direct impact on the health of the population and is the main indicator of environmental sanitation and hygienic living conditions. The aim of this study was to investigate the quality of drinking water from three water supply systems in Serbia.The retrospective descriptive study was done covering the period between 2011 and 2015. We collected data from control water supply systems in three towns and tested the samples as required by the Regulation on the Hygienic Acceptability of Potable Water. The following indicators of water security were analyzed: ammonia, nitrates, nitrites, consumption of potassium permanganate, organic matter content, pH and electroconductivity. The microbiological quality was determined by analyzing the indicators of fecal contamination, Escherichia coli, Enterococci and Salmonellae, using the membrane filtration method.The most frequent parameters of physical-chemical insecurity of water were a high concentration of ammonia, lower pH levels, and increased consumption of potassium permanganate. The most common detected microbes were aerobic mesophilic bacteria which are not significant from the aspect of human health.These results showed that drinking water could pose a potential risk to local consumers.