Assessment of Spring Water Quality in the City of Vladimir

Introduction: Many urban residents use water from alternative sources, such as springs, which are natural discharge points of subterranean water at the surface of the groundwater, for drinking and cooking. Their quality is largely determined by local environmental conditions, soil barrier functions and underlying rocks.
Objective: To assess spring water quality in the city of Vladimir in terms of safety and integral toxicity.
Materials and methods: We took water samples from six springs located in different districts of the regional center and popular with its citizens. The samples were tested according to standard potentiometric, conductometric, and titrimetric methods. Integral toxicity of spring water samples was determined using a Biotox-10M luminometer. We then analyzed data on 31 biochemical and microbiological parameters and integral toxicity of spring water in the city for 2017–2022.
Results: We established that spring water in Vladimir does not quite comply with the standards established by Russian Sanitary Rules and Norms SanPiN 1.2.3685-21, Hygienic standards and requirements for ensuring safety and/or harmlessness of environmental factors for humans. We identified priority pollutants of spring water causing deterioration of its quality for the years 2017–2021. We also noted low levels of magnesium and fluorine ions in spring water, which means that its regular intake may lead to deficiency of these essential elements in the local population. A recent increase in bacterial contamination of spring water was primarily attributed to human economic activities.
Conclusion: Judging by its trace levels of pollutants posing no health risks, spring water in Vladimir is not toxic. We still recommend permanent cleaning of spring areas, improvement of groundwater collection facilities, and boiling of spring water before use.

1. Nefedyeva TA, Kaljukova EN. The quality of drinking water from underground water objects Cherdaklinsky district of the Ulyanovsk region and public health. Voda: Khimiya i Ekologiya. 2018;(1-3(114)):141-146. (In Russ.)

2. Ivanov AV, Tafeeva EA, Davletova NKh, Vavashkin KV. Drinking water impact on human health. Voda: Khimiya i Ekologiya. 2012;(3(45)):48–53. (In Russ.)

3. Laskar N, Singh U, Kumar R, Meena SK. Spring water quality and assessment of associated health risks around the urban Tuirial landfill site in Aizawl, Mizoram, India. Groundw Sustain Dev. 2022;17:100726. doi: 10.1016/j.gsd.2022.100726

4. Chesnokova SM, Savel’ev OV. Estimation of water quality in decentralized water supply sources of Vladimir. Vodosnabzhenie i Sanitarnaya Tekhnika. 2019;(2):25-31. (In Russ.)

5. Costa C, Assunзгo R, Sequeira D, et al. From trihalomethanes chronic daily intake through multiple exposure routes to cancer and non-cancer health risk assessment: Evidence from public Portuguese Indoor swimming pools facilities using a probabilistic approach. Sci Total Environ. 2022;818:151790. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2021.151790

6. Marchenko BI, Zhuravlev PV, Plugotarenko NK, Yuhno AI. Assessment of carcinogenic risk from exposure to chlororganic compounds of water of systems of centralized water supply. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2021;100(2):99-110. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2021-100-2-99-110

7. Huang W-C, Liu M, Zhang F-G, et al. Removal of disinfection byproducts and toxicity of chlorinated water by post-treatments of ultraviolet/hydrogen peroxide and ultraviolet/peroxymonosulfate. J Clean Prod. 2022;352:131563. doi: 10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30038-8

8. Abu-Khader MM, Bilbiesy E, Abusalim F, et al. Evaluation of ultra-filtration ceramic membrane plant for the treatment of drinking water from Ram group aquifers in south Jordan. Groundw Sustain Dev. 2022;16:100723. doi: 10.1016/j.gsd.2021.100723

9. Álvarez-Arroyo R, Pérez JI, Ruiz LM, Gómez MA. Chlorination by-products formation in a drinking water distribution system treated by ultrafiltration associated with pre-ozonation or coagulation/flocculation. J Water Process Eng. 2022;47:102779. doi: 10.1016/j.jwpe.2022.102779

10. Trifonova TA, Martsev AA, Selivanov OG, Podolets AA. Fluorine content in water of centralized water supply in the Vladimir region. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2019;98(7):701-706. (In Russ.) doi: 10.18821/0016-9900-2019-98-7-701-706

11. Chukhlanov VYu, Selivanov OG, Pikalov ES, Chesnokova SM, Podolets AA. [Water purification from fluoride ions with a lanthanum-containing ceramic material.] Ekologiya i Promyshlennost’ Rossii. 2018;22(8):28-31. (In Russ.) doi: 10.18412/1816-0395-2018-8-28-31

12. Selivanov OG, Pikalov ES, Kolosova AS. Ceramic material for fluoride and phosphate ions removal from natural water. IJETER. 2020;8(5):1732-1735. Accessed April 23, 2022. https://www.warse.org/IJETER/static/pdf/file/ijeter39852020.pdf

13. Martsev AA, Selivanov OG. Influence of natural minerals on physical and chemical parameters of drinking water. Ekologiya Promyshlennogo Proizvodstva. 2021;(1(113)):22-25. (In Russ.) doi: 10.52190/2073-2589_2021_1_22

14. Almitova LI, Makaeva VI, Makaeva AR. Results of quality studies of spring waters of the Republic of Tatarstan. Vodnoe Khozyaystvo Rossii: Problemy, Tekhnologii, Upravlenie. 2021;(5):75-83. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35567/1999-4508-2021-5-5

15. Orlov AA. Hygienic features of the use of springs for drinking water supply for urban and rural population. Meditsina Truda i Ekologiya Cheloveka. 2016;(2(6)):33-37. (In Russ.)

16. Semenishchev VS, Titova SM, Voronina AV. Determination of water quality in springs of Ekaterinburg and Sverdlovsk Oblast. Vodnoe Khozyaystvo Rossii: Problemy, Tekhnologii, Upravlenie. 2020;(5):126-138. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35567/1999-4508-2020-5-8

17. Boeva AS, Prozhorina TI, Baskakova AG. Assessment of environmental risks to the Voronezh Oblast public health resulted from contamination of drinking water sources. Vodnoe Khozyaystvo Rossii: Problemy, Tekhnologii, Upravlenie. 2021;(5):62-74. (In Russ.) doi: 10.35567/1999-4508-2021-5-4

18. Kosarev AV, Ivanov DE, Mikerov AN, Savina KA. Evaluation of a carcinogenic and non-carcinogenic health risks due to the quality of drinking water by springs in the arid zone. Gigiena i Sanitariya. 2020;99(11):1294-1300. (In Russ.) doi: 10.47470/0016-9900-2020-99-11-1294-1300

19. Luzhetskiy KP, Ustinova OYu, Vandysheva AYu, Chigvintsev VM. Peculiarities of disorders in physical development of children consuming drinking water with increased nitrate content. Voprosy Pitaniya. 2017;86(3):40-48. (In Russ.)

20. Shuval HI, Gruener N. Infant methemoglobinemia and other health effects of nitrates in drinking water. Proceedings of the Conference on Nitrogen As a Water Pollutant. Elsevier Science; 2013;8.4:183-193. doi: 10.1016/B978-1-4832-1344-6.50017-4

21. Johnson SF. Methemoglobinemia: Infants at risk. Curr Probl Pediatr Adolesc Health Care. 2019;49(3):57-67. doi: 10.1016/j.cppeds.2019.03.002

22. Fan AM. Health, exposure and regulatory implications of nitrate and nitrite in drinking water. In: Encyclopedia of Environmental Health. 2 nd ed. Elsevier; 2019:417-435. doi: 10.1016/B978-0-12-409548-9.11837-8

23. Nefed’eva TA, Blagoveshchenskaya NV. Quality of spring water in Ulyanovsk region. Ul’yanovskiy Mediko-Biologicheskiy Zhurnal. 2018;(4):143-155. (In Russ.) doi: 10.23648/UMBJ.2018.32.22704

24. Malkova IL. [Medico-geographical assessment of the chemical composition of underground drinking waters of Udmurtia.] Nauka Udmurtii. 2015;(3(73)):124-139. (In Russ.)

25. Kanatnikova NV, Zakharchenko GL. Physiological role of fluorine and his containing in drinking water of the Orlovsky region. Zdorov’e Naseleniya i Sreda Obitaniya. 2010;(5(206)):40-43. (In Russ.)