DOI: 10.36347/sajb.2014.v02i10.011

Pages: 711-713

Urban parks are socially relevant in large cities, particularly for the low-income population. In the city of São Paulo, 12 million people have approximately 100 public parks available for leisure activities, sports, and recreation. The city is currently suffering from the most severe drought in 45 years, and the public water supply is regularly interrupted in the evening. Intermittent water supply coupled with a combination of integrity issues favors the risk of microbiological intrusion associated with enteric diseases. To establish the relevance of the issue under these conditions, an exploratory study was conducted to assess the quality of the water provided at water fountains at 15 randomly chosen parks. No bacteria of the Pseudomonas genus were detected. Escherichia coli was found in one of the samples. The concentration of heterotrophic bacteria ranged from <1 CFU/mL to 23 CFU/mL. Aeromonas spp. were present in 33 percent of the samples analyzed. The results show that drinking water quality has been compromised, although the maintenance of residual chlorine is apparently being effective in most cases, even with rationing. It is concluded that the improper conditions found at one of the fountains requires intervention, since network structural failures may be aggravated by pressure drop episodes. Future studies should be conducted under a multidisciplinary approach, to include a geographic sampling plan with risk analysis. Given the social importance of public parks, advances in water purification technologies applied at the point-of-use must be considered.