The quality of drinking water in North Carolina farmworker camps.
OBJECTIVE
The purpose of this study was to assess water quality in migrant farmworker camps in North Carolina and determine associations of water quality with migrant farmworker housing characteristics.


METHODS
We collected data from 181 farmworker camps in eastern North Carolina during the 2010 agricultural season. Water samples were tested using the Total Coliform Rule (TCR) and housing characteristics were assessed using North Carolina Department of Labor standards.


RESULTS
A total of 61 (34%) of 181 camps failed the TCR. Total coliform bacteria were found in all 61 camps, with Escherichia coli also being detected in 2. Water quality was not associated with farmworker housing characteristics or with access to registered public water supplies. Multiple official violations of water quality standards had been reported for the registered public water supplies.


CONCLUSIONS
Water supplied to farmworker camps often does not comply with current standards and poses a great risk to the physical health of farmworkers and surrounding communities. Expansion of water monitoring to more camps and changes to the regulations such as testing during occupancy and stronger enforcement are needed to secure water safety.
Department of Internal Medicine, Section on Infectious Diseases, Wake Forest School of Medicine, Winston-Salem, NC 27157-1042, USA. wbischof@wakehealth.edu
Werner E
WE
Bischoff
Maria
M
Weir
Phillip
P
Summers
Haiying
H
Chen
Sara A
SA
Quandt
Amy K
AK
Liebman
Thomas A
TA
Arcury
D000383:Agriculture; D060766:Drinking Water / Q000592:standards*; D004755:Enterobacteriaceae / Q000302:isolation & purification; D004926:Escherichia coli / Q000302:isolation & purification; D006801:Humans; D009657:North Carolina; D016272:Occupational Health; D014171:Transients and Migrants; D014871:Water Microbiology
D060766:Drinking Water