Water quality assessment at a global scale: a comparison between world regions

This paper examines the state of global drinking water quality using the Global Drinking Water Quality Index (GDWQI) for freshwater ecosystems. We compared the state of water quality in the five major world regions over 30 years by using a database provided by the GEMS/Water Programme of the United...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Water international 2013, Vol.38 (1), p.78-94
Main Authors: da Costa Silva, Gabriela, Dubé, Monique G
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Assessments
Decision-making
Drinking water
drinking water quality index
Earth sciences
Earth, ocean, space
Ecosystems
Environment
Environmental monitoring
Exact sciences and technology
Freshwater
freshwater ecosystems
Gems
global water quality assessment
Hydrology. Hydrogeology
Indexes
United Nations
United Nations Environment Program
United Nations Environment Programme
Water
Water quality
water quality guidelines
Water resources
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Summary:This paper examines the state of global drinking water quality using the Global Drinking Water Quality Index (GDWQI) for freshwater ecosystems. We compared the state of water quality in the five major world regions over 30 years by using a database provided by the GEMS/Water Programme of the United Nations Environment Program Global Environment Monitoring System. This global monitoring database is unique in the world and consists of raw, real data, not modelled data as is typical for many global water assessments. Our findings confirm the applicability of the GDWQI to better communicate changes in water quality trends and therefore help to improve decision-making processes worldwide.
ISSN:1941-1707
0250-8060
1941-1707
DOI:10.1080/02508060.2013.754322