Drinking Water Safety in Rural Areas of Zagreb County in 2013

Abstract

The paper analyzes the water supply in the rural part of Zagreb County, which is based mainly on individual water supply sources, i.e. dug or drilled wells and Norton pumps.
The aim of the paper is to investigate whether there is a difference in health quality of drinking water taken from the wells and taken from the Norton pumps. The wells are supplied from an aquifer that lies at a depth of 12 to 14 meters, while the Norton pumps reach a depth of 6 and 7 meters.
The analysis of water samples taken from the water supply sources revealed that the water does not basically comply with the Ordinance on the parameters of assessment and the methods for the analysis of water intended for human consumption, the Act on Water Intended for Human Consumption. Organoleptic indicators such as color and clarity do not satisfy, while the physical and chemical parameters such as pH and conductivity satisfy the criteria set for both water supply sources. Of all the chemical parameters only the chloride content was within the permitted limits, while the oxidativity, the content of ammonium, nitrite and nitrate were above the allowed limits in water samples taken from the wells and Norton pumps. Microbiological indicators in the analyzed samples, i.e. the number of colonies at 37 ° C and 22 ° C, as well as total coliforms also do not satisfy the requirements of the Ordinance. In order to use the water for drinking it is necessary to perform the conditioning and disinfection of wells, while with the Norton pumps these interventions are almost impossible to perform.