EFFECT OF HOUSE STORAGE ON WATER’S QUALITY IN RURAL AREAS OF TANGIER-TETUAN REGION (MOROCCO)

Abstract

Rural residents of Tangier-Tetuan Region (Northern of Morocco) are still pending on groundwater supplies for drinking water without any treatment. The storage of this water in household containers for a long time as well as the handling might lead to a quality deteriorated and become unsuitable for human consumption. In order to evaluate the effect of long storage on the chemical and bacteriological quality, households stored water of twenty springs were selected for the investigations on chemical and bacteriological parameters. The physicochemical properties showed that the majority of the stored water samples are considered acceptable, except some samples that don’t meet the standards recommended. Our study revealed also a positive correlation between storage and concentrations of microbial agents. Monitoring the chemical and bacteriological quality of stored drinking water is essential to prevent population health risks.