Abstract
Poor-quality drinking water can cause numerous health problems, particularly for people who are living with poor economic conditions, have a low educational status and have limited access to safe drinking water, such as the hill tribe people in Thailand. This study aimed to assess the quality of different sources of natural drinking water from the hill tribe villages in northern Thailand. Seventy-two drinking water samples from the hill tribe villages were collected and tested for biological, chemical and physical qualities, which were compared with the standard parameter values for safe drinking water according to the World Health Organization. Total coliform bacteria and fecal coliform bacteria, which represented the biological parameters, were detected in all samples. The physical parameters, which consisted of turbidity (36.1%), iron content (5.5%), color (2.7%) and pH (2.7%), exceeded the standard indications. However, the hazard quotient and hazard index values were less than 1. The hill tribe people are facing the problem of poor-quality drinking water, particularly in terms of biological and physical parameters that exceed the standard values. An effective program for improving access to safe water for the hill tribe people should be developed and implemented immediately.
Graphic abstract
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
Data availability
The data are available upon the reasonable request to the corresponding author.
References
Alagumuthu, G., & Rajan, M. (2010). Chemometric studies of water quality parameters of Sankarankovil block of Tirunelveli Tamilnadu. Journal of Environmental Biology, 31(5), 581–586
APHA. (2012). Standard method for the examination of water and waste water. (22nd ed.). AWWA APHA WEF.
APHA. (2017). Standard method for the examination of water and wastewater. (23rd ed.). AWWA APHA WEF.
Apidechkul, T. (2015). Prevalence and risk factors of intestinal parasitic infections among hill tribe schoolchildren, Northern Thailand. Asian Pacific Journal of Tropical Disease, 5(9), 695–699. https://doi.org/10.1016/S2222-1808(15)60915-X
ASTDR. (2005). Public health assessment guidance manual, appendix G: calculating exposure doses. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/hac/phamanual/appg.html. Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
ATSDR. (2007). Toxicology profile for arsenic. US. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp2.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2020.
ATSDR. (2012a). Toxicology profile for Manganese. US. Department of Health and Human Services. https://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp151.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2020.
ATSDR. (2012b). Toxicology profile for cadmium. US. Department of Health and Human Services. http://www.atsdr.cdc.gov/toxprofiles/tp5.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2020.
Chuah, C. J. (2016). Fluoride: A naturally-occurring health hazard in drinking-water resource of Northern Thailand. Science of the Total Environment, 545–546, 266–279. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.12.069
Covello, V. T., & Merkhofer, M. W. (1993). Risk assessment methods: Approaches for assessing health and environmental risks. Springer Science Business Media. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-1-4899-1216-9
Daphne, L. H. X., Utomo, H. D., & Kenneth, L. Z. K. (2011). Correlation between turbidity and total suspended solids in Singapore Rivers. Journal of Water Sustainability, 1(3), 313–322
Davis, K., Anderson, M. A., & Yates, M. V. (2005). Distribution of indicator bacteria in Canyon Lake. California Water Research, 39(7), 1277–1288
Department of Health. (2010). Drinking tap water quality (in Thai). http://foodsan.anamai.moph.go.th/more_news.php?cid=87&filename=download_2017new. Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
Giri, S., & Singh, A. K. (2015). Human health risk assessment via drinking water pathway due to metal contamination in the groundwater of Subarnarekha River Basin, India. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-015-4265-4
Hossain, D., Islam, M. S., Sultana, S., & Tusher, T. R. (2013). Assessment of Iron Contamination in groundwater at Tangail Municipality, Bangladesh. Journal of Environmental Science and Natural Resources, 6(1), 117–121. https://doi.org/10.3329/jesnr.v6i1.22051
Howe, C. W. (2008). Water, weather and the mountain west Robert William Sandford. Mountain Research and Development, 28(3/4), 336–337. https://doi.org/10.1659/mrd.mm041.
Islam, R., Faysal, S. M., Amin, M. R., Juliana, F. M., Islam, M. J., Alam, M. J., Hossain, M. N., & Asaduzzaman, M. (2017). Assessment of pH and total dissolved substances (TDS) in the commercially available bottled drinking water. IOSR-JNHS, 6(5), 35–40
Kim, H. J., Tango, C. N., Chelliah, R., et al. (2019). Sanitization efficacy of slightly acidic electrolyzed water against pure cultures of Escherichia coli, Salmonella enterica, Typhimurium, Staphylococcus aureus and Bacillus cereus spores, in comparison with different water hardness. Science and Reports, 9, 4348. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-40846-6
Kim, K. W., Chanpiwat, P., Hanh, H. T., Phan, K., & Sthiannopkao, S. (2011). Arsenic geochemistry of groundwater in Southeast Asia. Frontiers in Medicine, 5(4), 420–433. https://doi.org/10.1007/s11684-011-0158-2
Kumar, M., Rahman, M. M., Ramanathan, A., & Naidu, R. (2016). Arsenic and other elements in drinking water and dietary components from the middle Gangetic plain of Bihar, India: Health risk index. Science of the Total Environment, 539, 125–134. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2015.08.039
Liu, F., Ge, J., Hu, X., Fei, T., Li, Y., Jiang, Y., Xu, Z., Ding, S., Giesy, J. P., & Pan, J. (2009). Risk to humans of consuming metals in anchovy (Coilia sp.) from the Yangtze River Delta. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 31, 727–740
Marin, M. G. (1985). Idiopathic hemochromatosis. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/2986052. Accessed 31 Jan 2020.
McGrady, M. G., Ellwood, R. P., Srisilspanan, P., Korwanich, N., Worhtington, H. V., & Pretty, I. A. (2012). Dental fluorosis in populations from Chiang Mai Thailand with different fluoride exposure—paper 1: Assessing fluorosis risk, predictors of fluorosis and the potential role of food preparation. BMC Oral Health, 2012(12), 16. https://doi.org/10.1186/1472-6831-12-16
Mills, D. (2016). Pneumatic conveying design guide: Chapter 2 - airflow and particle flow in pipelines (3rd edn, pp. 33–57). Butterworth-Heinemann, ISBN 978-0-08-100649-8. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-0-08-100649-8.00002-0.
Monisha, J., Tenzin, T., Naresh, A., Blessy, B. M., & Krishnamurthy, N. B. (2014). Toxicity, mechanism and health effects of some heavy metals. Interdisciplinary Toxicology, 7(2), 60–72. https://doi.org/10.2478/intox-2014-0009
MWA. (2017). Tap water standard (in Thai). https://www.mwa.co.th/ewt_dl_link.php?nid=33082 Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
Nielands, K., Bernats, M., & Rubulis, J. (2012). Accumulation and modeling of particles in drinking water pipe fittings. Drink Water Engineering and Science, 2012(5), 47–57
Okeke, B. C., Thomson, M. S., & Moss, E. M. (2011). Occurrence, molecular characterization and antibiogram of water quality indicator bacteria in river water serving a water treatment plant. Science of the Total Environment, 409(23), 4979–4985
Pant, N. D., Poudyal, N., & Bhattacharya, S. K. (2016). Bacteriological quality of bottled drinking water versus municipal tap water in Dharan municipality. Nepal Journal of Health, Population and Nutrition., 35, 17. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41043-016-0054-0
Phanwong, S., Kamsrisuk, S., Chaichan, B., Kamla, W., Chaiwanna, R., Pongsuparp, N., Pewsaard, C. (2008). An Outbreak of Viral Hepatitis A in Wiangpapao District, Chiang Rai Province, 2005. Journal of Health Systems Research, 2, 1. https://kb.hsri.or.th/dspace/handle/11228/202..
Prasertsin, T., Waiyaka, P., Kornochalert, S., Pukumpuang, W. (2017). Water quality analysis of mountain water supply at nanglae nai village, Nanglae Subdistrict, Muang District, Chiang Rai Province (In Thai). Kasalongkham Research Journal, 11, 3, 101–113. https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/ksk/article/view/124978..
PWA. (2020). Tap water standard (in Thai). https://www.pwa.co.th/download/pwastandard50-1.pdf. Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
Rahman, M. A., Kumar, S., Mohana, A. A., Islam, R., Hashem, M. A., & Chuanxiu, L. (2019). Coliform bacteria and trace metals in drinking water, southwest Bangladesh: Multivariate and human health risk assessment. International Journal of Environmental Research, 2019(13), 395–408. https://doi.org/10.1007/s41742-019-00184-x
Reza, R., Singh, G. (2013). Groundwater quality status with respect to fluoride contamination in industrial area of Angul District Orissa India. Ind. J. Sci. Res. and Tech 1, 3, 54–61. http://citeseerx.ist.psu.edu/viewdoc/download?doi=10.1.1.428.6318&rep=rep1&type=pdf.
Ruankham, W., Nunloi, S., Pongjunta, A., Koychusakun, P. (2015). Risk factors of helminths and intestinal protozoa infection in a village of Chiangrai province. Naresuan Phayao Journal, 8, 2. https://li01.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/journalup/article/view/42605/0.
Rusydi, A. F. (2018). Correlation between conductivity and total dissolved solid in various type of water: A review. Earth and Environmental Science, 2018(118), 12–19
Safe Drinking Water Foundation. (2020). PH and TDS. https://www.safewater.org/fact-sheets-1/2017/1/23/tds-and-ph. Accessed 28 Apr 2020.
Sarkkola, S., Nieminen, M., KoivusaloLaur’en, H. A., Kortelaien, P., Mattsson, T., Palviainen, P. S., Starr, M., & Fine’r, L. (2013). Iron concentration are increasing in surface water from forested headwater catchments in eastern Finland. Science of the Total Environment, 463–464(1), 683–689. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2013.06.072
Shah, M. T., Ara, J., Muhammad, S., Khan, S., & Tariq, S. (2012). Health risk assessment via surface water and sub-surface water consumption in the mafic and ultramafic terrain, Mohmand agency, northern Pakistan. Journal of Geochemical Exploration, 118, 60–67. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gexplo.2012.04.008
Sudangam, S., Panyakapo, M. (2018). Health risk assessment of heavy metals in ground water and tap water of the people in non-hazardous waste landfill area, Chombueng District, Ratchaburi Province. Veridian E-Journal, Science and Technology Silpakorn University 32–47. https://www.tci-thaijo.org/index.php/VESTSU/article/view/155639..
Sudsandee, S., Fakkaew, F., Keadounglek, V., Laor, P., Worakhunpiset, S., & Apidechkul, T. (2020). Drinking water investigation of hill tribes a case study in northern Thailand. International Journal of Environmental Research and Public Health, 17, 1689. https://doi.org/10.3390/ijerph17051698
Sun, L., Leybourne, M. I., Rissmann, C., & Brikowski, T. (2015). Geochemistry of a large impoundment—Part II: Fe and Mn cycling and metal transport. Geochemistry Exploration Environment Analysis, 16(2), 2015–2361
Szczygieł, J., Hercman, H., Hoke, G., Gąsiorowski, M., Błaszczyk, M., & Sobczyk, A. (2020). No valley deepening of the Tatra Mountains (Western Carpathians) during the past. Geology, 48(10), 1006–1011. https://doi.org/10.1130/G47635.1
The hill tribe welfare and development center, Chiang Rai province. (2013). Hill tribe population 2013 (in Thai). Chiang Rai: The hill tribe welfare and development center, ministry of interior. Chiang Rai, Thailand, 2013, 14–27
UNEP/WHO. (1996). Microbiological analyses. https://www.who.int/water_sanitation_health/resourcesquality/wqmchap10.pdf. Accessed 9 Feb 2020.
US. EPA. (1989). Risk assessment guidance for superfund - volume I - human health evaluation manual (part A). US. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. https://www.epa.gov/sites/production/files/2015-09/documents/rags_a.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan 2020.
US. EPA. (1991). Risk assessment guidance for superfund - volume I - human health evaluation manual (part B, development of risk-based preliminary remediation goals). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. http://epa-prgs.ornl.gov/radionuclides/HHEMB.pdf. Accessed 17 Jan 2020.
US. EPA. (2004). Integrated risk information system (IRIS) – chemical assessment summary - lead and compounds (inorganic). U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/iris/iris_documents/documents/subst/0277_summary.pdf Accessed 10 Feb 2020.
US. EPA. (2005). Human health risk assessment protocol for hazardous waste combustion facilities. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency, Washington, DC. https://epa-prgs.ornl.gov/radionuclides/2005_HHRAP.pdf Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
US. EPA. (2006). Iron and Compounds. U.S. Environmental Protection Agency. https://cfpub.epa.gov/ncea/pprtv/documents/IronandCompounds.pdf. Accessed 10 Feb 2020.
Vreeburg, J. H. G., Schaap, P. G., & van Dijk, J. C. (2004). Particles in the drinking water system: From source to discolouration. Water Science and Technology, 4, 431–438
Weart, J. G., & Margrave, G. E. (1957). Oxidation-reduction potential measurements applied to iron removal. Journal American Water Works Association, 49(9), 1223–1233
WHO. (2010a). Drinking water quality in the South-East Asia region, Indraprastha Estate, Mahatma Gandhi Marg, New Delhi. https://apps.who.int/iris/handle/10665/204999. Accessed 25 Jan 2020.
WHO. (2010b). WHO human health risk assessment toolkit: Chemical hazards. https://www.who.int/ipcs/methods/harmonization/areas/ra_toolkit/en/. Accessed 11 Feb 2020.
WHO. (2020). 1 in 3 people globally do not have access to safe drinking water – UNICEF, WHO. Available at : https://www.who.int/news-room/detail/18-06-2019-1-in-3-people-globally-do-not-have-access-to-safe-drinking-water-unicef-who. Accessed 20 Apr 2020.
WHO and Unicef. (2017). Progress on drinking water, sanitation and hygiene: 2017 update and SDG baselines. Geneva, Switzerland: World Health Organization (WHO) and the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF), 2017. 114 pages. Available at: https://www.unicef.org/publications/files/Progress_on_Drinking_Water_Sanitation_and_Hygiene_2017.pdf. Accessed 18 Apr 2020.
Wongsakoonkan, W., Prechthai, T., & Tantrakarnapa, K. (2014). Suitable types and constituent ratios for clay-pot water filters to improve the physical and bacteriological quality of drinking water. EnvironmentAsia, 7(2), 117–123
Wongsasuluk, P., Chotpantarat, S., & Siriwong, M. W. (2014). Heavy metal contamination and human health risk assessment in drinking water from shallow groundwater wells in an agricultural area in Ubon Ratchathani province, Thailand. Environmental Geochemistry and Health, 36(1), 169–182
Zent, E. L. (2008). Mushrooms for life among the Jotï in the Venezuelan Guayana. Economic Botany, 62, 471–481. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12231-008-9039-2
Acknowledgements
We thank all hill tribes who allowed us for sampling of drinking water. We thank The National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT) and The Center of Excellence for the Hill-Tribe Health Research of Mae Fah Luang University for their support via grants.
Funding
The study was funded by the National Research Council of Thailand (NRCT), (Grant No. วช(ก)(กบง)/145/2561).
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Contributions
SS involved in conceptualization, data collection, laboratory analysis, writing—original draft preparation and editing, and project administration. KF involved in data collection. WS involved in data collection and laboratory analysis. SW involved in writing—review and editing. TA involved in writing—review and editing, and funding acquisition.
Corresponding author
Ethics declarations
Conflicts of interest
The authors have declared that no competing interests exist.
Human and animal rights
Not applicable.
Consent to participate
Not applicable.
Consent to publish
Not applicable.
Additional information
Publisher's Note
Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Sudsandee, S., Fakkaew, K., Siriratruengsuk, W. et al. Quality of sources of drinking water and health among the hill tribe people of northern Thailand. Environ Geochem Health 44, 873–892 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00963-6
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10653-021-00963-6