The Assessment of the Quality of Water Offered to Animals in Rural Households and Farms

Abstract

The aim of this paper was to assess the quality of water consumed by animals in rural households and farms. The water quality was determined based on indicator parameters (pH, ammonia, sulphates, iron, chlorides, organic substances, overall hardness, total number of germs, number of Coliform bacteria) and chemical parameters (nitrites, nitrates), by collecting and analyzing 40 water samples (from 20 households and 20 farms). The results were compared to the provisions of the Laws 458/2002 and 311/2004. Three water samples (15%) from rural households had nitrates exceeding the threshold levels. Within the indicator parameters, the following ones showed alterations: ammonia (20% from samples), sulphates (40% from samples), chlorides (35% from samples), overall hardness (60% from samples), organic substances (20% from samples), total number of germs (all of the samples) and the number of Coliform bacteria (90% from samples), respectively. The water used in farms had no alterations of the chemical parameters. Within the indicator parameters, the following showed divergences from the legal provisions: overall hardness (85%), the total number of germs (50% from samples) and the number of Coliform bacteria (35% from samples). The obtained results indicate a better quality of water consumed by animals in farms in comparison with water consumed by them in rural households.

Keywords

• ammonia
• coliforms
• drinking water
• nitrate
• water quality