Drinking water quality and associated factors at water supply stations in Quang Ngai Province in 2022

Objectives: This paper aims to describe drinking water quality at water supply stations in Quang Ngai province according to Vietnam Standards (QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT) and to identify some associated factors affecting water quality. Methods: The study used test results of 41 centralized water supply stations collected from Quang Ngai Center for Disease Control in December 2022 and compared them with QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT. Results: 58.5% of stations had water quality that met QCVN 01-1:2018/BYT; 65.9% and 80.5% of stations with physicochemical and microbiological parameters met the standards. The parameters not meeting the standards were mainly nitrate content, hardness, chloride, taste, residual chlorine, Coliform and E. coli. In particular, 34.1% of stations did not meet the standard for the nitrate parameter. Private enterprises had the highest rate of meeting the standard (85.7%), followed by state enterprises (79.0%), private stations (25.0%) and cooperatives (14.3%). The Chi-square test showed that water supply stations had water quality checked, applied the right prices, trained operators in water supply, had a system of settling, filtering, disinfecting, and cleaning facilities and stations with operating time within five years had better water quality. Conclusion: Water supply facilities, especially private stations and cooperatives need to improve their management, comply with regulations on internal inspection and pay attention to treating nitrate contamination. There should be a plan to send operators to specialized training in water supply. It is necessary to invest in the construction of a treatment and disinfection system, to replace the degraded, leaking distribution pipeline and to make an annual plan for the maintenance and cleaning of water supply facilities. The authorities need to provide specialized training on water supply and guide the management regulations for facility owners and operators. At the same time, there should be sanctions and strict handling measures for domestic water supply stations that violate regulations.