IMDEA Water, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain.
IMDEA Water, Alcalá de Henares 28805, Spain.
Sci Total Environ. 2016 Apr 15;550:534-546. doi: 10.1016/j.scitotenv.2016.01.113. Epub 2016 Feb 2.
Drinking water access in the Saharawi refugee camps located in the Algerian desert is a challenge that is still an on-going problem after 40years of conflict. This work presents an analysis of the situation with emphasis on the water supply in health institutions (quantity and quality) including both sanitary inspections and a comprehensive water quality study. Results from sanitary inspections show that only half of the water supply installations at the hospitals are in adequate conditions and the rest present high risk of microbiological contamination. Water access in small medical community centres on the other hand present issues related to the non-availability of food-grade water tanks for the institutions (70%), the use of small 10l containers as the main water supply (40%), poor maintenance (60% under antihygienic conditions and 30% with damaged covers), and insufficient chlorine levels that prevent microbiological contamination. Regarding water quality analyses, raw water supply in Smara, El Aiun and Awserd camps present high conductivity and high levels of fluoride, chloride, nitrate and sulphate, but dropping to normal levels within the drinking-water standards after water treatment via reverse osmosis plants. But for the case of El Aiun and Awserd, the reverse osmosis plant only provides treated water to the population each 20days, so the population receives raw water directly and health risks should be evaluated. Finally, Dakhla water supply is the best in terms of physico-chemical parameters quality, currently providing safe drinking water after a chlorination stage. In summary, drinking water access has improved dramatically in the last years due to the efforts of local and international authorities but several issues remain to be solved: access to treated water for all the population, improved water quality controls (especially in Dakhla), expansion of distribution networks, and adequate storage systems and maintenance.
撒哈拉难民营的饮用水供应是一个挑战，在 40 年的冲突后，这仍然是一个持续存在的问题。本工作对这一情况进行了分析，重点是卫生机构的供水（数量和质量），包括卫生检查和全面的水质研究。卫生检查结果表明，只有一半的医院供水设施状况良好，其余的则存在很高的微生物污染风险。另一方面，小型医疗社区中心的饮用水供应存在一些问题，包括机构没有食品级水箱（70%）、使用小的 10 升容器作为主要供水（40%）、维护不善（60%处于不卫生条件下，30%盖子损坏），以及氯含量不足，无法防止微生物污染。关于水质分析，斯马拉、埃尔阿尤恩和奥塞尔德营地的原水供应具有高电导率和高氟化物、氯化物、硝酸盐和硫酸盐水平，但经过反渗透厂处理后，饮用水标准降至正常水平。但是对于埃尔阿尤恩和奥塞尔德来说，反渗透厂每 20 天才向居民提供处理过的水，因此居民直接饮用原水，应评估健康风险。最后，达赫拉的供水在理化参数质量方面是最好的，目前在氯化阶段后提供安全饮用水。总之，由于当地和国际当局的努力，饮用水供应在过去几年得到了显著改善，但仍有几个问题需要解决：为所有人提供处理过的水、改善水质控制（特别是在达赫拉）、扩大分配网络以及适当的储存系统和维护。
