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. 2020 Sep 22:14:1178630220959672.
doi: 10.1177/1178630220959672. eCollection 2020.

Evaluation of Drinking Water Quality in Schools in a District Area in Hanoi, Vietnam

Dang The Hung  1 , Vu Thi Cuc  1 , Vu Thi Bich Phuong  1 , Dao Thi Thanh Diu  1 , Nguyen Thi Huyen Trang  1 , Nguyen Phuong Thoa  1 , Do Thi Tuyet Chinh  1 , Ta Manh Hung  2 , Chu Manh Linh  1 , Nguyen Van Long  1
Affiliations

Evaluation of Drinking Water Quality in Schools in a District Area in Hanoi, Vietnam

Dang The Hung et al. Environ Health Insights. .

Abstract

Background: Drinking water quality affects directly human health. Assessment and prevention of water-borne diseases are crucial for primary prevention, especially for children.

Objective: The main aim of this study was to investigate the quality of drinking water from tap water in preschools and primary schools in a district area in Hanoi City, Vietnam.

Methods: A cross-sectional study was performed from August to October 2019. Water samples from tap water of 154 schools in a district area of Hanoi were collected to determine the quality of drinking water. From each school, at least 2 bottles of water samples were collected on the basis of a standard operating procedure (SOP). Each water sample was analyzed for microbial and physicochemical parameters, including Color, Taste and Odor, Turbidity, pH, Nitrite, Nitrate, Ammonium, Total Iron, Permanganate, Chloride, Hardness, Total Manganese, Sulfate, Arsenic, Coliform, and E.coli, by analytical methods. The obtained values of each parameter were compared with the standard values set by WHO and National Technical Regulation on Domestic Water Quality of Vietnam.

Results: All of the schools employed community water system as a main source for drinking water. The results showed that all tested samples were found to be within the standards for some physicochemical properties, including Color, Taste and Odor, Hardness, Chloride, Total Iron (Fe2+ và Fe3+), Total Manganese (Mn), Nitrate (NO3 -), Sulfate (SO4 2-), and Total Arsenic (As). On the other hand, some samples did not meet the allowable limits of the national standard, due to pH (3.9%), Turbidity (0.6%), Nitrite (3.2%), Permanganate (6.5%), and Ammonium (5.8%). Furthermore, the microbial data revealed that the substandard water samples from municipal water systems were contaminated by Coliform (9.7%) and/or E.coli (7.8%).

Conclusions and recommendations: Contaminants such as bacterial and chemical agents in to drinking water could be occurred during transport, storage and handling before using by the consumer without regular surveillance. A periodic treatment procedure and monitoring system to keep the level of microbial and chemical contamination of drinking water in schools under control should be performed.

Keywords: Drinking water; Hanoi; Vietnam; chemicals; microbial; tap water; water quality.

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Conflict of interest statement

Declaration of conflicting interests:The author(s) declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Figures

Figure 1.
Figure 1.
(a) Map of location of Ha Dong district. (b) Map of water sample collection points.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

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