Results of Hydroecological Studies of the State of Drinking Water Use in the Voronezh Region

Abstract

The purpose of the study is to assess the quality of drinking water in the Voronezh region based on the results of chemical analysis of water samples taken from centralized and decentralized sources of water use. Materials and methods. Initial data: 1) Database of the Department of the Federal Supervision Service in the fi eld of Consumer Protection and Human Well-Being for the Voronezh region "Results of laboratory tests of drinking water quality at monitoring points" for 2024-2025 from the distribution network of centralized water use; 2) own database "Re sults of chemical analysis of drinking water samples taken from decentralized water use sources during fi eld expeditions for 2024-2025." Chemical analysis of samples was carried out for 5 priority pollutants of drinking water (total hardness, iron, manganese, boron, nitrates) using titrimetric and colorimetric analysis methods. Results and discussion. In centralized water use systems, exceeding the standard values for water hardness is most common (43.24 % of samples). For decentralized water use sources, the main problems are the increased nitrate content (30.29 %) and hardness (28.37 %). Analysis of the correlation between water quality from centralized and decentralized systems revealed the most noticeable connection for three main indicators: nitrates (correlation coeffi cient 0.30), hardness (0.39), and boron (0.89). Conclusion. Analysis of water quality data in 34 districts of the region showed that both centralized and decentralized sources of water use do not provide satisfactory drinking water quality. The main indicators of water quality decline in the Voronezh region are the increased hardness associated with natural features and nitrates entering the water as a result of economic activity.