A case study of sanitary survey on community drinking water supplies after a severe (post-Tsunami) flooding event.
This report presents a case study of a comprehensive sanitary survey on ca. 160 community drinking water supplies after a severe (post-Tsunami) flooding event in Sri Lanka. Sanitary inspection and microbiological and chemical water quality analyses were performed according to specifically-designed procedures established on the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. Significant hazards and critical points were identified in almost all the investigated water supplies. The overall results showed a significant level of microbiological and chemical risk associated with drinking water consumption within the investigated areas. The criteria and methods practised in this study are proposed as a model to assure an effective and reliable monitoring in post-emergencies involving possible deterioration of water quality and to identify health priorities related to water consumption.
Ferretti
Emanuele
E
Dipartimento di Ambiente e Connessa Prevenzione Primaria, Istituto Superiore di Sanità, Rome, Italy. emanuele.ferretti@iss.it
Bonadonna
Lucia
L
Lucentini
Luca
L
Della Libera
Simonetta
S
Semproni
Maurizio
M
Ottaviani
Massimo
M
D003625:Data Collection; D012449:Safety; D012499:Sanitation; D013188:Sri Lanka; D057192:Tsunamis; D014871:Water Microbiology; D014881:Water Supply / Q000592:standards*; D014944:World Health Organization