Maramures County drinking water quality

Abstract

Surface water and groundwater represent the main sources of drinking water in Romania. Ammonium, iron, manganese, and arsenic are the main potential pollutants that can be found in groundwater. In high concentrations or long-term consumption, they can have a dangerous effect on human health when present in drinking water. Ammonia can have a compromising effect on the disinfection process efficiency leading to taste and odour problems. Excess iron and manganese can modify the drinking water organoleptic characteristics (turbidity, colour) making it hardly acceptable for human consumption. Long term arsenic consumption can have a dangerous effect on the human body like skin cancer, cardiovascular diseases and dermal lesions. In Romania, drinking water is controlled by the National Drinking Water Quality Act no. 458/2002, republished in 2011. For this reason, the present study focused on determining drinking water quality according to the national legislation.