« Back

Abstract: As a fundamental human right "sufficient, safe, acceptable, physically accessible and affordable water for personal and domestic uses" is vital for all. Drinking water must have a quality that promotes and protects public health, the safe water expressing the accordance to the maximum admissible limits of the relevant water parameters for human health. Industry and agriculture are considered as having the greatest impact on the quality and quantity of water and an overwhelming majority of Europeans think that climate change will have an impact on the water resources. In Romania, most of the water sources are surface waters (lakes and rivers). The process of providing safe drinking water has relied on the protection of water sources, the application of the specific treatment technologies and the protection and maintaining quality in the distribution system. The health risk factors which can be associated with a drinking water treatment plant are related to: water contamination during treatment steps, final disinfection efficiency, distributed water quantity and distribution continuity, all these factors contributing to the presence or absence of the waterborne diseases, influencing human security and public health.

Keyword: human security, water sources, water quality, public health.