Water quality as an environmental health indicator in two Baja California Mexico indigenous communities associated with drinking water infrastructure systems

The indigenous communities of Baja California are located less than one-hundred miles south of the US./Mexico border, and have retained much of their traditional culture, customs and ties to their U.S. relatives. In 2003 a study was conducted to document environmental health practices and to investigate drinking water quality data in four Kumeyaay and Pai Pai indigenous communities in Baja California. Community health workers obtained water samples and administered health surveys in each of the communities. Bacteriological tests showed that all fifty-three drinking water sample showed presence for total coliforms and E. coli. In 2004, a baseline assessment was conducted to gather information from the same four communities along with three other nearby indigenous communities and evaluated their drinking water systems through sanitary site inspection and water quality testing. It was determined that six of the seven communities evaluated had E.coli in their water supply and had a significant need for water system improvements. As a direct result of these assessments, the construction of two new drinking water infrastructure systems in the two most at risk communities was funded. Currently, the Pan American Health Organization has funded a next step project to study the correlation between improved drinking water infrastructure systems and decreased rates of gastrointestinal illnesses in these two communities in order to demonstrate the applicability of water quality as an environmental health indicator. Surveys by community health workers are implemented twice a month over a period of ten months in the two communities with new systems. Concurrently, water samples for bacteriological contaminants are taken twice monthly from the well source water as well as three additional points within the community. Along with this bacteriological water quality data, two water samples were taken from the well source water, to analyze for viruses such as entero and hepatitis. Both surveys and water quality are being analyzed and compared to previous studies done in these communities with the older infrastructure. These results will be completed by June 2008.