Quality of drinking water of underground water supply sources in rural areas: status and health risk assessment

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Introduction. Taking into account the key activities of the federal project «Water of Russia», the preservation of public health is of particular importance. Aim of the study. To assess the quality and safety of drinking water from underground water supply sources for the health of the population living in rural areas of the southern Baikal region. Materials and methods. Study used data from the regional information fund for 2015‒2024. An assessment of the quality and safety of drinking water from underground sources in nine districts of the Republic of Buryatia was carried out, taking into account hygienic criteria, integral assessment and risk assessment of priority chemical pollutants. Statistical significance at p <0.05. Results. During the study period, there was a 2.2-fold increase in the number of samples tested and indicators from 47 to 54 and a 1.4-fold decrease in the specific gravity of samples that did not meet hygienic criteria. At the same time, there are excess hygienic standards for 18 indicators and increased values of hazard coefficients for two substances. In the Tarbagatai, Ivolginsky, and Kabansky districts, the discrepancy between drinking water and hygienic standards remains due to the influence of anthropogenic factors and the hydrogeological conditions of groundwater that contribute to them. Limitations. Frequency of monitoring, limited knowledge of cumulative effect of chemicals presents in water assessed by water quality index. Conclusion. According to the drinking water quality index in rural areas of the southern Baikal region, 7 districts with “very clean” water and 2 with “moderately polluted” were distinguished.Compliance with ethical standards. The study does not require the submission of the conclusion of the Biomedical Ethics Committee.Contribution: Bogdanova O.G. ‒ concept and design of the study, collection of material, analysis and interpretation of data, writing text, editing; Maraktaev Z.V. ‒ organization of the study, collecting material, statistical data processing, writing the primary version of the text; Efimova N.V. ‒ study design, analysis and interpretation of data, editing;Pankov V.A. ‒ analysis and interpretation of data, editing. All authors are responsible for the integrity of all parts of the manuscript and approval of the manuscript final version.Conflict of interest. The authors declare no conflict of interest.Funding. The study was performed within the framework of the state assignment of East-Siberian Institute of Medical and Ecological ResearchReceived: May 31, 2026 / Accepted: June 18, 2026 / Published: July 31, 2026

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