Quality and access to water for human consumption: a look at the state of Amazonas, Brazil

Abstract

Surveillance indicators of the quality of water for human consumption in the Amazon were analysed from 2016 to 2020 using 185,528 samples from 11 microregions. Of the samples analysed, 93.20% were from urban areas, 66.65% were from the public water supply system (WSS), 31.02% were from the Collective Alternative Solution-CAS, and 2.33% from the Individual Alternative Solution-IAS. There was an increase in the number of records by the WSS, with a downwards trend and fluctuations in records for the CAS and the IAS. The quality indicators of chemical and physical parameters for urban areas were higher than those for rural areas and traditional communities. Most of the samples presented pH values below the recommended level. In the quantification of microbiological parameters, a higher presence of total coliforms and E. coli was identified in samples from rural areas and in traditional communities. In conclusion, there were inadequacies in the chemical, physical and microbiological parameters as well as problems related to the supply, storage and surveillance of water distributed for human consumption. These findings indicate the need to build an agenda for public management to address water insecurity and its likely effects on food insecurity in the region.

Key words:
Drinking water; Water insecurity; Water supply; Health information systems; Environmental health surveillance