Sanitary impact evaluation of drinking water in storage reservoirs in Moroccan rural area

In Morocco, storage reservoirs are particular systems of water supply in rural areas. These reservoirs are fed with rainwater and/or directly from the river, which are very contaminated by several pathogenic bacteria. They are used without any treatment as a drinking water by the surrounding population. In this context, the aim of this study is to evaluate the impact of consuming contaminated water stored in reservoirs on health status for six rural communities located in Assif El Mal, Southern East of Marrakech. This was investigated using a classical methodology based on population survey and by molecular approach using PCR–DGGE technique to determine the intestinal bacterial diversity of consumers. The survey showed that, the residents of the studied area suffered from numerous health problems (diarrheal diseases, vomiting or hepatitis A) due to the lack of waste management infrastructures. The consumer’s stool analysis by molecular approach revealed that numbers of Escherichia coli, Aeromonas hydrophila and Clostridia, were significantly higher in the diarrheal feces. In addition, PCR–DGGE study of the prevalence and distribution of bacteria causing human diseases, confirmed that, there is a relationship between water bacterial contaminations of storage reservoirs and microbial disease related health status. Therefore, water reservoir consumption is assumed to be the mean way of exposure for this population. It’s clear that this approach gives a very helpful tool to confirm without any doubt the relationship between water bacterial contamination and health status.