QUALITY AND MANAGEMENT OF DRINKING WATER IN RURAL SCHOOLS: A CASE STUDY OF HEALTH REGION 4

Abstract

         The objectives of this study were to investigate the management of drinking water and analyze its physical, chemical, and biological quality from 35 rural schools chosen by purposive selection in Health Region 4, including Ayutthaya, Pathum Thani, and Nakhon Nayok provinces. Primary survey data was collected by a school water management questionnaire and drinking water sample collection for quality analysis following standard methods; secondary data was gathered by compiling the comparative previous five years of water quality analysis results. Variable relationships were analyzed by t-test and logistic regression. Drinking water management analysis indicated that rural schools used the groundwater supply (51.4%), Provincial Waterworks Authority plumbing (40%), surface water (2.9%), and 20-liter bottled water (5.7%), mainly filtered. Between 2018 and 2023, the percentage of schools meeting physical, chemical, and biological water quality standards rose from 54.3% to 77.1%. Compliance with toxic heavy metals standards was highest at 100%, followed by general chemical parameters at 95.2%, physical parameters at 94.8%, heavy metals at 91.0%, and biological parameters at 73.8%. A significant association was found between biological water quality and the presence of algae in dispensers/taps and insufficient funding for water quality management (p < .050). Eighteen schools (51.42%) lacked a water management budget. After the Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic began, a significant reduction in total coliform bacteria was observed in drinking water (p < .001). These findings suggested that water dispensers should be cleaned regularly and related agencies must fund access to safe drinking water. Such measures would promote students’ health through the consumption of clean water and reduce the incidence of illnesses associated with waterborne and foodborne diseases.