Investigator(s)
| Submitter |
Pema Chophel RCDC Pema Chophel 
|
| Principal Investigator |
Pema Chophel RCDC Pema Chophel
|
| Co-Investigator(s) |
Chimmi Dorji RCDC Chimmi Dorji
|
| Co-Investigator(s) |
Amin Ngawang Tashi RCDC Amin Ngawang Tashi
|
| Co-Investigator(s) |
Rinzin Wangdi RCDC Rinzin Wangdi
|
Title(s) and abstract
| Scientific title | Drinking water quality in Bhutan: Trend and compliance (2017-2024) |
| Public title | Drinking water quality in Bhutan: Trend and compliance (2017-2024) |
| Background | Access to clean and safe drinking water is vital for human health, social well-being, and sustainable development. While Bhutan enjoys abundant freshwater resources, ensuring the safety and quality of drinking water remains a significant challenge. The country’s mountainous terrain makes accessing water sources difficult, especially for remote communities, and climate-related issues such as drying springs and erratic rainfall further affect water reliability. Rapid urbanization and development have also increased pressure on existing water sources, impacting both quality and availability. Although 99.7% of Bhutan’s population has access to improved drinking water sources, concerns remain regarding the actual safety of this water. National surveillance reports show that only 40–50% of the drinking water supplies meet the Bhutan Drinking Water Quality Standards, 2016. This discrepancy between access and quality highlights critical gaps in water safety management. Inadequate water, sanitation, and hygiene (WASH) services continue to contribute to preventable illnesses and deaths, especially among vulnerable groups such as children, the elderly, and pregnant women. Despite Bhutan’s commitment to water quality surveillance, data from routine water testing has not been fully analyzed or used to guide effective interventions. Many existing systems focus on sample collection and reporting, but lack in-depth evaluation needed for policy planning and risk reduction. This study aims to assess long-term trends in Bhutan’s drinking water quality since the introduction of BDWQS 2016. It will analyze compliance with both national and international water quality standards, focusing on microbial, physical, and chemical parameters and support Bhutan’s progress toward achieving SDG 6. |
| Objectives | Objective: To evaluate the temporal trends in drinking water quality from 2017 to 2024 and assess compliance with national and international regulatory standards. Specific objectives: 1. To analyze long-term trends in Bhutan’s drinking water quality both in urban and rural, focusing on key parameters such as microbial (E. coli), physical, and chemical contamination. 2. To assess the compliance of all parameters with regulatory standards (BDWQS and WHO guidelines), for evaluating the effectiveness of existing water treatment and management practices. 3. To establish a foundational baseline for future research, that will enable comparative analyses of drinking water quality over time and support evidence-based decision-making in water resource management. |
| Study Methods | Methods and materials Study design The study will be conducted for data on drinking water quality in Bhutan from both urban and rural area across the nation. The analysis for water quality results will be performed using administrative data retrieved from the Water Quality Monitoring Information System (WQMIS) from 2017 to 2023. The WQMIS that serves as the centralized repository for recording data collected by all surveillance centers responsible for monitoring drinking water quality throughout Bhutan. Drinking water quality surveillance in Bhutan is managed by the Ministry of Health, with the Royal Center for Disease Control (RCDC) serving as reference laboratory. This nationwide surveillance is conducted by 39 urban health centers and 245 rural health centers, including primary health centers and sub-posts. To ensure the reliability of data, standard operating procedures (SOP) are strictly followed for sample collection, handling, testing and reporting as per the requirement of national guideline for drinking water quality surveillance. Test parameters included in the assessment Microbiology: E. coli Physical: Turbidity, pH and Conductivity Chemical: Free residual chlorine, Fluoride, Nitrate, Sulphate and Heavy metals Data analysis Graphpad prism and Microsoft Excel will be employed to observe descriptive statistics, analysis trends, and develop tables and graphs. All sets of data will presented as the mean ± SEM. A difference with a p-value < 0.05 will be considered statistically significant. |
| Expected outcomes and use of results | This study aims to assess existing data on Bhutan’s drinking water quality reported from sentinel sites and evaluate their compliance with national and international standards. Through this study we would like to provide evidence-based recommendations for improving surveillance practices and to support Bhutan’s efforts in achieving SDG 6 and ensure safe drinking water for all. |
| Keywords | drinking water, water quality, surveillance, safe drinking water, compliance |
Research Details
| Student research | No |
| Start Date | 10-Feb-2025 |
| End Date | 31-Jul-2025 |
| Key Implementing Institution | Royal Centre for Disease Control |
| Multi-country research | No |
| Nationwide research | Yes |
| Research Domain(s) | Non-communicable diseases & Healthy Lifestyles |
| Research field(s) | Other (Environmental Health) |
| Involves human subjects | No |
| Data Collection | Secondary data |
| Proposal reviewed by other Committee | No |