The water consumption consumption behaviors and and water quality for consumption among people living in the area of Sirikit dam

Abstract

        The aim of this descriptive cross-sectional research was to study the quality of water for consumption and water consumption behaviors among people living in the area of Sirikit dam.There were 2 parts in this study, the first part aimed to collect specimens from three areas of water consuming resources including tap water from the mountain, ponds, and water from Sirikit dam.The water was measured for its quality in term of physical, chemical and biological characteristic.The second part aimed to study water consumption behaviors using the questionnaire for data collection.The participants in this research were 255 individuals aged 20 years old and above who residing in the area of Sirikit dam.The sample was randomly sampling using simple random sampling technique.Descriptive statistics was used for data analysis.

The results revealed that quality of water from three areas were contaminated by Coliform bacteria (>1.1 MPN/100 ml. from standard criteria for safe drinking water) and Fecal coliform bacteria (>1.1 MPN/100ml. from standard criteria for safe drinking water).The figure demonstrated that the water was contaminated with bacteria over the criteria for safe drinking water.This water can be consumed only when it purified with standard water filter or other measures.Among 225 participants, 53.7% were male, the average age of all participants was 50 years (SD =15.52) with the age range from 20 to 98 years.The majority of them (60%) had only primary school education and were farmers (53.7%).In regard to the water consumption behaviors of the participant, almost all of them (98.8%) use water sources from mountain water supply for drinking.It was found that 72.5 % drink the water from the water sources without any purify measure. Environmental impurity was found in the area surrounding the water sources whereas a herd of cattle, pig and buffalo were gathered within 10 meters. 

        The results from this study can serve as a suggestion for improving watering management system and water consumption behavior among people living in the area of Sirikit dam. Accordingly, the water borne diseases can be prevented among these people.