Search Results (446)

The Sustainable Development Goals seek to achieve universal, adequate, and equitable access to drinking water and sanitation by the year 2030. Yet, significant and persistent disparities in water and sanitation access exist, with rural and low-income households in Sub-Saharan Africa exhibiting some of the lowest levels. This paper uses household surveys from rural villages in Zambia’s Western Province to identify, highlight, and examine spatial barriers to improved water and sanitation. Most households included in the study area drink unimproved water, including surface water, and either use unimproved sanitation facilities or practice open defecation. Access to improved water sources and improved sanitation in the study area lags behind the rest of rural Zambia. Beyond the distance to urban areas that makes piped water and sanitation expensive, the location of these villages in the Barotse Floodplain necessitates seasonal migration, which creates barriers to universal access to improved water and sanitation. Full article

Background/Objectives: High sodium consumption increases the risk of hypertension and cardiovascular disease. Although food remains the primary source of intake, elevated sodium levels in drinking water can further contribute to excessive intake, particularly in populations already exceeding recommendations. This review examines the extent to which national drinking water standards account for sodium-related health risks and aims to inform discussion on the need for enforceable, health-based sodium limits. Methods: National standards for unbottled drinking water in 197 countries were searched for using the WHO 2021 review of drinking water guidelines, the FAOLEX database, and targeted internet and AI searches. For each country, data were extracted for the document name, year, regulatory body, regulation type, sodium limit (if stated), and rationale. Socio-geographic data were sourced from World Bank Open Data. A descriptive analysis was conducted using Microsoft Excel. Results: Standards were identified for 164 countries. Of these, 20% (n = 32), representing 30% of the global population, had no sodium limit. Among the 132 countries with a sodium limit, 92% (n = 121) adopted the WHO’s palatability-based guideline of 200 mg/L. Upper limits ranged from 50 to 400 mg/L. Only twelve countries (9%) cited health as a rationale. Three countries—Australia, Canada, and the United States—provided a separate recommendation for at-risk populations to consume water with sodium levels below 20 mg/L. Conclusions: Globally, drinking water standards give inadequate attention to sodium’s health risks. Most either lack sodium limits or rely on palatability thresholds that are too high to protect health. Updating national and international standards to reflect current evidence is essential to support sodium reduction efforts. Health-based sodium limits would empower communities to better advocate for safe water. Amid rising water salinity, such reforms must be part of a broader global strategy to ensure universal and equitable access to safe, affordable drinking water as a basic human right. Full article

Keeping drinking water safe is a critical aspect of protecting public health. Traditional laboratory-based methods for evaluating water potability are often time-consuming, costly, and labour-intensive. This paper presents a comparative analysis of four transformer-based deep learning models in the development of automatic classification systems for water potability based on physicochemical attributes. The models examined include the enhanced tabular transformer (ETT), feature tokenizer transformer (FTTransformer), self-attention and inter-sample network (SAINT), and tabular autoencoder pretraining enhancement (TAPE). The study utilized an open-access water quality dataset that includes nine key attributes such as pH, hardness, total dissolved solids (TDS), chloramines, sulphate, conductivity, organic carbon, trihalomethanes, and turbidity. The models were evaluated under a unified protocol involving 70–15–15 data partitioning, five-fold cross-validation, fixed random seed, and consistent hyperparameter settings. Among the evaluated models, the enhanced tabular transformer outperforms other models with an accuracy of 95.04% and an F1 score of 0.94. ETT is an advanced model because it can efficiently model high-order feature interactions through multi-head attention and deep hierarchical encoding. Feature importance analysis consistently highlighted chloramines, conductivity, and trihalomethanes as key predictive features across all models. SAINT demonstrated robust generalization through its dual-attention mechanism, while TAPE provided competitive results with reduced computational overhead due to unsupervised pretraining. Conversely, FTTransformer showed limitations, likely due to sensitivity to class imbalance and hyperparameter tuning. The results underscore the potential of transformer-based models, especially ETT, in enabling efficient, accurate, and scalable water quality monitoring. These findings support their integration into real-time environmental health systems and suggest approaches for future research in explainability, domain adaptation, and multimodal fusion. Full article

The Roma population is one of Europe’s largest ethnic minorities, often living in inadequate living conditions, worse than those of the majority population. They frequently lack access to essential services, even in high-income countries. This lack of basic services—particularly in combination with proximity to (stray) animals and human and solid waste—significantly increases environmental health risks, and leads to a higher rate of endoparasitic infections. Our study sheds light on the living conditions and health situation in Roma communities in Slovakia, focusing on the prevalence of intestinal endoparasitic infections across various settlement localisations. It highlights disparities and challenges in access to safe drinking water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) and other potentially disease-exposing factors among these marginalised populations. This study combines a comprehensive review of living conditions as per national data provided through the Atlas of Roma communities with an analysis of empirical data on parasitological infection rates in humans, animals, and the environment in settlements, applying descriptive statistical methods. It is the first study in Europe to provide detailed insights into how living conditions vary and cause health risks across Roma settlements, ranging from those integrated within villages (inside, urban), to those isolated on the outskirts (edge, sub-urban) or outside villages (natural/rural). Our study shows clear disparities in access to services, and in health outcomes, based on where people live. Our findings underscore the fact that (i) place—geographical centrality in particular—in an already challenged population group plays a major role in health inequalities and disease exposure, as well as (ii) the urgent need for more current and comprehensive data. Our study highlights persistent disparities in living conditions within high-income countries and stresses the need for greater attention and more sensitive targeted health-promoting approaches with marginalised communities in Europe that take into consideration any and all of the humans, ecology, and animals affected (=One Health). Full article

Access to safe, clean drinking water is a critical challenge across many resource-constrained settings, especially in developing economies. Large-scale water treatment technologies are often available in urban areas, whereas such centralized systems are unavailable in rural and remote areas due to high infrastructure costs, rugged terrains, and maintenance challenges. To address this challenge, point-of-use (PoU) water treatment systems can fill this critical gap. This study critically evaluates the role low-cost PoU water treatment solutions play as a promising alternative to address water access and quality aspects in remote rural areas. The study explores the present state of global water sources, the challenges of water scarcity and pollution, and the limitations of existing large-scale treatment technologies. It highlights the motivation behind PoU systems and provides an in-depth analysis of various low-cost technologies, including operational principles, performance efficiency, and economic viability. Embedded in this study is a concise evaluation of the sustainability of these solutions in addressing water access and quality challenges in resource-limited regions. Finally, the study proposes solutions and perspectives on improving PoU systems and scale-up of the systems for large-scale applications to facilitate increased access to clean and safe water. Full article

The social category of dairy cows within a herd may influence their access to essential heat abatement resources. We evaluated how dominant, intermediate, and subordinate cows used shade and water in a silvopastoral system. Thirty-nine lactating Jersey cows were observed in a replicated study. Cows had unrestricted access to natural shade and a water trough. Microclimatic conditions and cow behaviors were recorded, and social rank was determined. Sunny areas promoted potential thermal discomfort for the cows, with higher heat load (on average 580.7 W/m²) than shaded areas (on average 438.6 W/m²). Intermediate (IRR: 2.07) and subordinate (IRR: 1.63) cows were more likely (p < 0.001) to visit the water trough than dominant cows. The odds of drinking water decreased by 13% (p < 0.001) for each hour that passed throughout the day. In contrast, the odds of using shaded areas increased by 7% (p < 0.001) for each increase in hour unit. Although all cows used the shaded areas at some point, they generally spent more time standing than lying down in the shade. Social category and hour influenced (p < 0.001) the behaviors in the shaded areas, with dominant cows more likely to engage in lying behaviors such as idling and rumination. In conclusion, our study demonstrated that cows’ social category and thermal environment influenced the use of shade and drinking water. Although the overall pattern of resource use increased with rising thermal load, the proportion of use varied according to social category. Ensuring multiple or alternative resources may help meet the needs of cows across social ranks and improve thermal comfort during heat stress periods. Full article

Given the problems related to drinking water supplies in rural and economically disadvantaged regions, point-of-use disinfection technologies are a viable alternative to improve access to drinking. Electrochlorinators are devices that produce chlorine-based disinfectants onsite via the electrolysis of a sodium chloride solution. In this research, we have constructed an innovative laboratory-scale three-compartment cell that includes two ion exchange membranes, fixed between two electrodes; in the anodic compartment, an acidic mixture of chlorine-based species (Cl₂, HClO, HCl and ClO⁻) is obtained, and, in the cathodic compartment, an alkaline solution is present (NaOH and hydrogen gas), while the central compartment is fed with a sodium chloride solution. The Taguchi methodology was used to examine the impact of the process operating conditions on the results obtained. The effects of the electrical potential levels (4.5, 6 and 7 V), electrolysis times (30, 60 and 90 min) and initial sodium chloride concentrations (5, 15 and 30 g/L) on the physical and chemical characteristics (concentrations of available chlorine and sodium hydroxide and pH of the solutions) and energy consumption were investigated. Variations in the electrical potential significantly influenced the concentration levels of active chlorine and sodium hydroxide produced, as well as the pH values of the respective solutions. The most favorable conditions for the production of electrolyzed water were an electrical potential of 7 volts, an electrolysis time of 90 min and a concentration of 30 g/L of sodium chloride, which was verified by ANOVA. The maximum concentration of active chlorine reached 290 mg/L and that of sodium hydroxide reached 1450 mg/L without the presence of hypochlorite ions under the best synthesis conditions. The energy consumption was 18.6 kWh/kg Cl₂ and 4.4 kWh/kg NaOH, while the average electric current efficiency for sodium hydroxide formation reached 88.9%. Similarly, the maximum conversion of chloride ions reached 24.37% under the best operating conditions. Full article

This review aims to increase attention on present water quality issues on Central Asia, finding gaps in the literature on ways to address treatment needs, and help ensure future use of Central Asia surface waters and groundwater for all beneficial uses. Central Asia is a landlocked region known for its harsh climatic conditions and scarce water resources, despite being home to some of the world’s largest internal drainage basins. The available literature suggests that increasing salinity has rendered water unsuitable for irrigation and consumption; hazardous trace elements are found throughout Central Asia, most often associated with mining and industrial sources; and that legacy pesticides influence water quality, particularly in agriculturally influenced basins. This study also focuses on the effects of municipal and industrial wastewater discharge. Additionally, the impact of inadequately treated wastewater on water resources is analyzed through a review of available data and reports regarding surface and groundwater quantity and quality. Given the challenges of water scarcity and accessibility, the reuse of treated wastewater is becoming increasingly important, offering a valuable alternative that necessitates careful oversight to ensure public health, environmental sustainability, and water security. However, due to insufficient financial and technical resources, along with underdeveloped regulatory frameworks, many urban areas lack adequate wastewater treatment facilities, significantly constraining their safe and sustainable reuse. Proper management of wastewater effluent is critical, as it directly influences the quality of both surface and groundwater, which serve as key sources for drinking water and irrigation. Due to their persistent and biologically active nature even at trace levels, we discuss contaminants of emerging concern such as antibiotics, pharmaceuticals, and modern agrochemicals. This review thus highlights gaps in the literature reporting on impacts of wastewater inputs to water quality in Central Asia. It is recommended that future research and efforts should focus on exploring sustainable solutions for water quality management and pollution control to assure environmental sustainability and public health. Full article

Background: Over the past decade, Shanghai primary and middle schools have installed and updated direct-drinking water facilities in compliance with local policies, but few studies have assessed the schools providing direct-drinking water access. Methods: A cross-sectional study was conducted with 167 public primary, middle, and high schools across Pudong New Area, Shanghai during Autumn 2024. The type, location, and working condition of all direct-drinking water facilities throughout each school were documented by trained research staff using a direct observation protocol. Information on school direct-drinking water quality was obtained from the routine monitoring program. Data were analyzed for comprehensive assessment of direct-drinking water facilities in the schools. Results: On average, each school had one faucet of direct-water facility per 41 students; 70% of the schools met the requirement for minimum direct-drinking water access, and >90% placed facilities in high-traffic areas. In addition, 83% of the schools selected water facilities with nanofiltration and a hot water system, and most only provided hot water (above 50 degrees Celsius). For school direct-drinking water quality, the concentrations of hardness, chemical oxygen demand (COD), and total dissolved solids (TDS), as well as pH values, were improved significantly, but the total bacteria count was prone to not meeting the requirement for standards in middle and high schools, which could be caused by insufficiency of chlorination in pumping stations or neglecting to clean facilities promptly. Conclusions: Wide usage of school direct-drinking water facilities could help most public schools to meet local policies for minimum student drinking water access in Shanghai, but microbial contamination was the potential threat. Water temperature is the key factor affecting students’ drinking water, providing an optional water temperature for students’ preferences and concerns. National sanitary standards of direct-drinking water quality and relevant additional regulations should be established and implemented in China. Full article

Three isolates of a novel, rapidly growing, non-pigmented Mycobacterium species were recovered from the water and runoff of a public fountain in a rural village in central Portugal, formerly used by the local population as a source of drinking water and not accessible to animals. High-quality draft genome sequencing, in silico DNA–DNA hybridization, and phylogenetic analyses confirmed that isolates 21AC1^T, 21AC14, and 21AC21 represent a previously undescribed species within the genus Mycobacterium, forming a distinct phylogenetic lineage closely related to Mycobacterium wolinskyi, Mycobacterium goodii and Mycobacterium smegmatis. MALDI-TOF MS analysis of the type strain 21AC1^T revealed a unique spectral profile. A comprehensive polyphasic characterization was performed, including chemotaxonomic analyses of fatty acid and mycolic acid composition, as well as an extensive biochemical characterization. Their susceptibility to 12 antimicrobials was also assessed. The identification and characterization of novel nontuberculous mycobacteria species are of increasing environmental and clinical relevance, as infections by these opportunistic pathogens are on the rise globally. Based on our findings, we propose that isolates 21AC1^T, 21AC14, and 21AC21 represent a novel species, for which we propose the name Mycobacterium appelbergii sp. nov., with the type strain designated as 21AC1^T (=BCCM/ITM 501212 = DSM 113570) and the additional two strains as 21AC14 (=BCCM/ITM 501447 = DSM 118402) and 21AC21 (=BCCM/ITM 501448 = DSM 118403). Full article

Background: Heat stress in agricultural work is a significant health risk, especially due to dehydration as a result of exposure to heat, physical exertion, and inadequate hydration practices. This problem becomes even more critical when working outdoors, where extreme conditions can intensify the effects. Objective: The main objective of the present study was to determine the existing interventions to prevent or mitigate dehydration among agricultural workers exposed to heat stress during their workday outdoors, in both real and simulated contexts. Methods: A systematic review was performed in accordance to the PRISMA (Preferred Reporting Items for Systematic Reviews and Meta-Analyses) guidelines. The search strategy combined MeSH terms and an open search in six scientific databases. Relevant studies were selected and data from the interventions were extracted, following the guidelines from the Joanna Briggs Institute (JBI) for systematic reviews. The studies were assessed with the Mixed Methods Appraisal Tool (MMAT) and the GRADE assessment framework. Results: Nine studies were included, which focused on interventions such as education programs, cooling devices, and hydration strategies. The results showed that adequate access to water, rest in the shade, the use of cooling bandanas, and hydration backpacks, were effective in reducing dehydration and heat stress among agricultural workers exposed to high temperatures. Conclusions: An integrated approach combining education, hydration, and workplace improvements is essential to prevent dehydration and heat stress among agricultural workers. While body cooling is promising, further research and investments in infrastructure are needed to ensure access to safe drinking water, shaded rest areas, cooling technologies, educational initiatives, and health monitoring systems. Full article

Water plays a critical role in the growth and management of fresh produce, being a vital resource and a potential vector for pathogens. To address these concerns, guidelines for the microbiological quality of treated wastewater, recreational, irrigation, and drinking water have been established worldwide. With multiple outbreaks linked to Escherichia coli (E. coli) contamination, monitoring and improving water quality standards have become essential, especially for small-scale and limited-resource farmers. The Food Safety and Modernization Act (FSMA, 2014) in the United States was introduced to regulate microbiological safety of produce, focusing on irrigation water. Approximately 77% of farmers in Kentucky are small farmers, of which, 4.2% supply directly to consumers through various avenues, accounting for approximately USD 24 million a year. This study examined the microbial quality of irrigation water used in Kentucky, focusing on the presence and number of coliform bacteria and E. coli. The report covers findings from a year-long program providing free microbial water quality testing to producers (n = 90), analyzing groundwater and surface water samples (n = 296). Results indicate surface water showing a significantly higher risk of exceeding FSMA thresholds. The findings emphasize the need for continued outreach, education, and accessible testing resources to support compliance with evolving Produce Safety Rule regulations, especially among small-scale producers. Full article

Free chlorine (FC) plays a crucial role in ensuring the safety of drinking water by effectively inactivating pathogenic microorganisms. However, traditional methods for measuring FC levels often require specialized equipment and laboratory settings, limiting their accessibility and practicality for on-site or point-of-use monitoring. QR Codes are powerful machine-readable patterns that are used worldwide to encode information (i.e., URLs or IDs), but their computer vision features allow QR Codes to act as carriers of other features for several applications. Often, this capability is used for aesthetics, e.g., embedding a logo in the QR Code. In this work, we propose using our technique to build back-compatible Color QR Codes, which can embed dozens of colorimetric references, to assist in the color correction to readout sensors. Specifically, we target two well-known products in the HORECA (hotel/restaurant/café) sector that qualitatively measure chlorine levels in samples of water. The two targeted methods were a BTB strip and a DPD powder. First, the BTB strip was a pH-based indicator distributed by Sensafe^®, which uses the well-known bromothymol blue as a base-reactive indicator; second, the DPD powder was a colorimetric test distributed by Hach^®, which employs diethyl-p-phenylenediamine (DPD) to produce a pink coloration in the presence of free chlorine. Custom Color QR Codes were created for both color palettes and exposed to several illumination conditions, captured with three different mobile devices and tested over different water samples. Results indicate that both methods could be correctly digitized in real-world conditions with our technology, rendering a 88.10% accuracy for the BTB strip measurement, and 84.62% for the DPD powder one. Full article

Fresh groundwater is essential for sustaining life and socio-economic development, particularly in regions with limited safe drinking water alternatives. However, contamination from natural and anthropogenic sources poses severe health and environmental risks. This research examines the health risks linked to groundwater quality in the agroeconomic region of Boudh district, Odisha, India, where residents depend on untreated groundwater due to limited access to alternative sources. A total of 82 groundwater samples were analyzed during pre- and post-monsoon of the year 2023 using multivariate statistical methods (PCA, correlation analysis) to determine pollutant sources and regulatory factors, while XRD was employed to characterize fluoride-bearing minerals in associated rock samples. Fluoride concentrations range from 0.14 to 4.6 mg/L, with 49% of samples exceeding the WHO limit of 1.5 mg/L, which raises significant health concerns. Nitrate levels fluctuate between 1.57 and 203.51 mg/L, primarily due to agricultural fertilizers. A health risk assessment (hazard quotient and hazard index) indicates that 63% of samples fall into the low-risk category, 21% into moderate-risk, and 16% into high-risk. Children (HI = 29.23) and infants (HI = 19.51) are at the greatest health risk, surpassing that of adult males (HI = 12.2) and females (HI = 11.2). Findings provide scientific evidence for policymakers to implement groundwater protection and remediation strategies. Immediate interventions, including water quality monitoring, defluoridation measures, and community awareness programs, are essential for ensuring long-term water security and public health. Full article

This study extends previous machine learning work on ion constituent simulation in California’s Sacramento–San Joaquin Delta (Delta) to include three critical water intake locations. The developed Artificial Neural Network models demonstrate exceptional accuracy (R² > 0.96) in predicting chloride, bromide, and sulfate concentrations at these strategically important facilities. Water intake location models show substantial improvements in prediction accuracy, with MAE reductions of 60.7–74.0% for chloride, 63.3–72.5% for bromide, and 70.4–87.9% for sulfate, compared to existing methods for the Interior Delta. Performance evaluation through comprehensive cross-validation confirms robust model stability across varied conditions, with remarkably consistent metrics (standard deviation in R² ≤ 0.006). Four complementary interactive dashboards were developed, enabling users, regardless of programming expertise, to simulate ion constituents throughout the Delta system. A Model Interpretability Dashboard specifically addresses the complexity of machine learning models by visualizing parameter sensitivity and prediction behavior, thereby enhancing transparency and building stakeholder trust in the modeling approach. For the first time, spatial coverage limitations are addressed through hybrid modeling that combines DSM2 hydrodynamic simulation with machine learning to enable continuous prediction of ion distributions across several points in the Interior Delta. These advancements provide water managers with accessible, accurate tools for informed decision-making regarding agricultural operations, drinking water treatment, and ecosystem management in this vital water resource. Full article