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Protecting Groundwater for Health: Managing the Quality of Drinking-water Sources
01 Oct 2006-
TL;DR: Protecting Groundwater for Health provides a structured approach to analysing hazards to groundwater quality, assessing the risk they may cause for a specific supply, setting priorities in addressing these, and developing management strategies for their control.
Abstract: Protecting drinking-water resources is the first barrier against pathogens and substances hazardous to health. Practitioners in drinking-water supply or surveillance - from the local and technical level up to senior management - have a key role in initiating collaboration with other sectors, such as environment, land-use planning, or agriculture towards safeguarding drinking-water sources. Protecting Groundwater for Health provides a structured approach to analysing hazards to groundwater quality, assessing the risk they may cause for a specific supply, setting priorities in addressing these, and developing management strategies for their control. For health professionals, it thus is a tool for access to environmental information needed for such a process, and for professionals from other sectors, it gives a point of entry for understanding health aspects of groundwater management. This book presents tools for developing strategies to protect groundwater for health by managing the quality of drinking-water sources. Section I covers the natural science background needed to understand which pathogens and chemicals are relevant to human health, how they are transported in the sub-surface and how they may be reduced, removed or retarded. Section II provides guidance for compiling information needed to characterise the drinking-water catchment area in order to assess health hazards potentially reaching groundwater. Section III provides conceptional guidance on prioritising both hazards and management responses. Section IV provides an overview of the potential management actions that may be taken to protect drinking-water sources. These begin with their integration into a comprehensive Water Safety Plan that covers all supply steps from catchment to consumer. Section V provides an overview of measures to prevent pollution from human activities in the catchment, beginning with the overarching issues of policy, land-use planning and implementation for protecting groundwater. Overviews are presented of the specific management approaches that help avoid groundwater pollution from the range of human activities in the catchment, i.e. agriculture, sanitation practices, industry, mining, military sites, waste disposal and traffic.
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TL;DR: It can be concluded that there are good prospects for decentralized systems based on membranes, but that a need exists for research and development of systems with low costs and low maintenance, specifically designed for DC and TC.
437 citations
Cites background from "Protecting Groundwater for Health: ..."
...Furthermore, depletion can occur due to overdraft and salinization can occur in case of inadequate drainage (Schmoll et al., 2006; Konikow and Kendy, 2005)....
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TL;DR: In this paper, the authors used existing survey and population data to calculate global pit latrine coverage, systematically review empirical studies of the impacts of pit latrines on groundwater quality, evaluate latrine siting standards, and identify knowledge gaps regarding the potential for and consequences of groundwater contamination by pit-latrines.
Abstract: Background: Pit latrines are one of the most common human excreta disposal systems in low-income countries, and their use is on the rise as countries aim to meet the sanitation-related target of the Millennium Development Goals. There is concern, however, that discharges of chemical and microbial contaminants from pit latrines to groundwater may negatively affect human health.
Objectives: Our goals were to a) calculate global pit latrine coverage, b) systematically review empirical studies of the impacts of pit latrines on groundwater quality, c) evaluate latrine siting standards, and d) identify knowledge gaps regarding the potential for and consequences of groundwater contamination by latrines.
Methods: We used existing survey and population data to calculate global pit latrine coverage. We reviewed the scientific literature on the occurrence of contaminants originating from pit latrines and considered the factors affecting transport of these contaminants. Data were extracted from peer-reviewed articles, books, and reports identified using Web of ScienceSM, PubMed, Google, and document reference lists.
Discussion: We estimated that approximately 1.77 billion people use pit latrines as their primary means of sanitation. Studies of pit latrines and groundwater are limited and have generally focused on only a few indicator contaminants. Although groundwater contamination is frequently observed downstream of latrines, contaminant transport distances, recommendations based on empirical studies, and siting guidelines are variable and not well aligned with one another.
Conclusions: In order to improve environmental and human health, future research should examine a larger set of contextual variables, improve measurement approaches, and develop better criteria for siting pit latrines.
310 citations
TL;DR: A comprehensive summary and critical analysis of previous NF and RO applications on fluoride and uranium removal is presented and the influence of operating conditions, water quality, solute–solute interactions, membrane characteristics and membrane fouling on Fluoride and uranium retention is critically reviewed.
232 citations
TL;DR: PMA in conjunction with RT-PCR was used to determine the infectivity of enteric RNA viruses in water and it was concluded that PMA can be used to differentiate between potentially infectious and noninfectious viruses under the conditions defined above.
Abstract: Human enteric viruses can be present in untreated and inadequately treated drinking water. Molecular methods, such as the reverse transcriptase PCR (RT-PCR), can detect viral genomes in a few hours, but they cannot distinguish between infectious and noninfectious viruses. Since only infectious viruses are a public health concern, methods that not only are rapid but also provide information on the infectivity of viruses are of interest. The intercalating dye propidium monoazide (PMA) has been used for distinguishing between viable and nonviable bacteria with DNA genomes, but it has not been used to distinguish between infectious and noninfectious enteric viruses with RNA genomes. In this study, PMA in conjunction with RT-PCR (PMA-RT-PCR) was used to determine the infectivity of enteric RNA viruses in water. Coxsackievirus, poliovirus, echovirus, and Norwalk virus were rendered noninfectious or inactivated by treatment with heat (72°C, 37°C, and 19°C) or hypochlorite. Infectious or native and noninfectious or inactivated viruses were treated with PMA. This was followed by RNA extraction and RT-PCR or quantitative RT-PCR (qRT-PCR) analysis. The PMA-RT-PCR results indicated that PMA treatment did not interfere with detection of infectious or native viruses but prevented detection of noninfectious or inactivated viruses that were rendered noninfectious or inactivated by treatment at 72°C and 37°C and by hypochlorite treatment. However, PMA-RT-PCR was unable to prevent detection of enteroviruses that were rendered noninfectious by treatment at 19°C. After PMA treatment poliovirus that was rendered noninfectious by treatment at 37°C was undetectable by qRT-PCR, but PMA treatment did not affect detection of Norwalk virus. PMA-RT-PCR was also shown to be effective for detecting infectious poliovirus in the presence of noninfectious virus and in an environmental matrix. We concluded that PMA can be used to differentiate between potentially infectious and noninfectious viruses under the conditions defined above.
203 citations
TL;DR: It was found that in some studies, CRMs provided sustained delivery of CRM treatment reagents over several years, and achieved complete contaminant removal, however, lower removal rates were apparent in other cases, which may be ascribed to insufficient dispersion in the subsurface.
167 citations
References
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01 Jan 1994
TL;DR: In this paper, the Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community (EC) encouraged agricultural intensification and thereby inadvertently increased nitrate losses from soils, and the EC's subsequent 50 mg L{-1} limit for nitrate in potable water brought a conflict of interest between farmers responding to the demand for cheap food and water suppliers expected to provide plentiful, drinkable water.
Abstract: The perceived health risks from nitrate in water raise much concern, but the environment problems it causes are the more real. The underlying issue may be political. The Common Agricultural Policy of the European Community (EC) encouraged agricultural intensification and thereby inadvertently increased nitrate losses from soils. The EC's subsequent 50 mg L{-1} limit for nitrate in potable water brought a conflict of interest between farmers responding to the demand for cheap food and water suppliers expected to provide plentiful, drinkable water. Far too little rain falls in the drier areas of the UK to dilute even modest nitrate losses from farmland to 50 mg L{-1}, so farmers are under pressure. Nitrate losses can be minimised at the farm scale by practical measures to lessen the nitrate vulnerable in the soil. Less intensive farming decreases losses at this scale, but at the larger scale it may be more effective to farm some land intensively and use the rest to produce biofuel or provide recreation.
3 citations