title: Water quality laboratories in Colombia: a GIS-based study of urban and rural accessibility.
abstract: The objective of this study was to quantify sample transportation times associated with mandated microbiological monitoring of drinking-water in Colombia. World Health Organization Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality recommend that samples spend no more than 6h between collection and analysis in a laboratory. Census data were used to estimate the minimum number of operational and surveillance samples required from piped water supplies under national regulations. Drive-times were then computed from each supply system to the nearest accredited laboratory and translated into sample holding times based on likely daily monitoring patterns. Of 62,502 surveillance samples required annually, 5694 (9.1%) were found to be more than 6 h from the nearest of 278 accredited laboratories. 612 samples (1.0%) were more than 24 hours' drive from the nearest accredited laboratory, the maximum sample holding time recommended by the World Health Organization. An estimated 30% of required rural samples would have to be stored for more than 6 h before reaching a laboratory. The analysis demonstrates the difficulty of undertaking microbiological monitoring in rural areas and small towns from a fixed laboratory network. Our GIS-based approach could be adapted to optimise monitoring strategies and support planning of testing and transportation infra-structure development. It could also be used to estimate sample transport and holding times in other countries.
authors.affiliation: Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Electronic address: j.a.wright@soton.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Jim
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Wright
authors.affiliation: Geography and Environment, University of Southampton, Highfield, Southampton SO17 1BJ, UK. Electronic address: jenny19880813@gmail.com.
authors.forename: Jing
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Liu
authors.affiliation: The Water Institute at UNC, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 170 Rosenau Hall CB #7400, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA. Electronic address: rbain@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Robert
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Bain
authors.affiliation: Facultad de Ciencias e Ingeniería, Universidad de Boyacá, Campus Universitario Cra 2a este #64-169 Tunja, Boyacá, Colombia. Electronic address: aperezv@uniboyaca.edu.co.
authors.forename: Andrea
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Perez
authors.affiliation: The Water Institute at UNC, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 170 Rosenau Hall CB #7400, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA. Electronic address: crockerj@live.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jonny
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Crocker
authors.affiliation: The Water Institute at UNC, Gillings School of Global Public Health, University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, 170 Rosenau Hall CB #7400, 135 Dauer Drive, Chapel Hill, NC 27599-7400, USA. Electronic address: jbartram@email.unc.edu.
authors.forename: Jamie
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Bartram
authors.affiliation: Water & Health Research Centre, Department of Civil Engineering, Queens Building, University Walk, Bristol BS8 1TR, UK. Electronic address: stephen.gundry@bristol.ac.uk.
authors.forename: Stephen
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Gundry
mesh_terms: D003105:Colombia; D004784:Environmental Monitoring / Q000379:methods*; D040362:Geographic Information Systems; D007753:Laboratories; D014873:Water Pollutants / Q000032:analysis; D060753:Water Quality / Q000592:standards; D062066:Water Resources / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D014881:Water Supply / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D014944:World Health Organization
chemical_list: D014873:Water Pollutants
keywords: Drinking water; Faecal indicator bacteria; GIS; Monitoring; Spatial analysis; Water supply