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Natural and technical factors in faecal contamination incidents of drinking water in small distribution networks, France, 2003-2004: a geographical study.
- Source :
-
Journal of water and health [J Water Health] 2010 Mar; Vol. 8 (1), pp. 20-34. - Publication Year :
- 2010
-
Abstract
- This geographical study aimed to show natural or water-processing-related factors of faecal contamination incidents (FCIs) of drinking water in continental France. We defined a FCI as the occurrence of at least 20 colony-forming Escherichia coli or enterococci among all the 100 mL samples collected for regulatory purpose within one day from a given drinking water supply zone (SZ). We explored correlations between the standardized number of FCIs per département (N_Pols) and various indicators related to weather, land cover, topography, geology and water management for three SZ size sub-classes. In 2003-2004, 2,739 FCIs occurred in SZs supplying fewer than 2,000 people, mainly with simply disinfected groundwater. N_Pols correlates with four covariates: (1) precipitation; (2) the extension of the karst outcrops; (3) the extent of disinfection; and (4) catchment protection. One hundred millimetres of yearly excess in precipitation increases the pollution risk by 28-37%, depending on the sub-class. A 10% extension of the karst areas, a 10% increase of unprotected resources, or of SZs with no disinfection, could entail a higher risk of FCI by about 10%. The correlations are reproducible over the three sub-classes and corroborate expert appraisals. These results encourage the ongoing effort to generalize disinfection and catchment protection.
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 1477-8920
- Volume :
- 8
- Issue :
- 1
- Database :
- MEDLINE
- Journal :
- Journal of water and health
- Publication Type :
- Academic Journal
- Accession number :
- 20009244
- Full Text :
- https://doi.org/10.2166/wh.2009.043