The world is not on track to achieve universal access to safely managed water services by 2030, and access is substantially lower in rural areas. This target, and many other global indicators, rely on the current classification of improved water sources for monitoring access. We aimed to investigate contamination in drinking water, comparing improved and unimproved sources in urban and rural areas.
We analysed a sample of 95,070 households in 38 low- and middle-income countries, using MICS survey data. Samples from the household’s water source and from a glass of drinking water were tested for E. coli contamination. We calculated the contamination prevalence according to source and area of residence.
Contamination was widespread and unacceptably high in almost all countries, settings, and sources, with substantial inequalities between and within countries. Water contamination was found in 51.7% of households at the source and 70.8% at the glass of water. Some improved sources were as likely to be contaminated as unimproved sources, with contamination at the source found for 84.7% of households using rainwater and 89.0% using protected wells. Some sources, like piped water, were considerably more likely to be contaminated in rural than urban areas (contamination prevalence at the source of 49.3% vs 19.9%, respectively), while no difference was observed for other sources.
Monitoring water contamination, along with further investigation in water collection, storage, and source classification, is essential and must be expanded to achieve universal access to safe and clean water.

To read the full study and get more information, access the original article published by Journal of Water and Health