Concern about water quality is historical in Brazil. However, it was in 1977 that the Ministry of Health was given the power to define norms and standards for drinking water. From the 1970s until today, laws, decrees and ordinances have been established and are evolving so that the population has access to water of the right quality.
Water Potability: historical importance and standards
The 1970s was an important milestone for the issue of water potability, as it was during this decade that the Ministry of Health was given responsibility for drawing up standards relating to water quality. The first step in this direction was Decree 79.367 of March 1977, which laid down norms and standards for the potability of water throughout the country.
Despite being a decree under the competence of a federal body, it was stipulated that it should be coordinated with states and municipalities to ensure mandatory compliance with the established standards. The law also established rules for the protection of water sources, public water supply services, building installations and water quality control in the public supply system.
Continuing along this path of criteria for water quality, on March 14, 1977, BSB Ordinance No. 56 was instituted, which became the first national law to establish physical-chemical standards, chemical substances, bacteriological standards and their respective Maximum Permitted Values (VMP), with emphasis on establishing a value for fluoride in order to meet the requirement for fluoridation of water distributed in the public supply system to prevent dental caries.
Concern about water quality has not diminished over the decades. With the experiences gained and the support of new actors in this scenario to foster a more in-depth discussion on water quality in Brazil, Ordinance No. 36 was born on January 14, 1990.
With the support of the state health departments, some definitions emerged with the terminology of Surveillance in the control of the quality of water for human consumption as well as the terms, services and water supply systems. For the first time, the Laboratory Certified by the Ministry of Health or by the health authorities of the states or federal district appeared.
Finally, it was stipulated that a report must be sent to the state secretariats to prove compliance with the legislation. The components present in the legislation were also altered and the number of compounds increased, in addition to the definition of limits for some parameters.
After a decade, Ordinance 1,469 was published on December 29, 2000. The drafting of this ordinance was more in-depth and comprehensive, as it involved the participation of laboratories, environmental agencies, health and academia.
The result of this wide-ranging discussion contributed to a significant evolution of the legislation, as improvements were made to the definitions, duties, responsibilities and penalties in the event of non-compliance with the legislation.
Parameters were established, updated and included, such as cyanobacteria, as well as new criteria for sampling. Four years after this ordinance, Ordinance GM/MS 518 of March 25, 2004 was published just to change the legislative attribution from FUNASA to the Health Surveillance Secretariat.
However, on December 12, 2011, Ordinance 2.914 was published, as the Ministry of Health saw the need to revise the legislation on water potability, taking into account new technical and scientific knowledge developed by universities.
As of this new publication, new definitions, duties and responsibilities were required, as well as new recommendations, the inclusion of new potability parameters such as Cylindrospermopsin, in addition to the expansion of organic and inorganic substances and pesticides. It was at this time that the requirement for the ABNT NBR ISO/IEC 17025 accreditation seal arose to contribute to the quality of the analyses and consequently to compliance with the legislation.
In 2021, the Ministry of Health revised the legislation for the last time and after a public consultation published Ordinance GM/MS No. 888 on May 4th. Among the main changes are the improvement of terms for better understanding, the introduction of a standard for Microcystin and Saxitoxin, the updating and expansion of chemical substances, including Epichlorohydrin and some new Pesticides and their metabolites, as well as metabolites of Pesticides that were already part of their VMP tables.
Water Potability Analysis – EP Analytical
In summary, it can be concluded that Brazilian legislation has undergone a major evolution and transformation with the support and participation of various actors, including environmental agencies, laboratories, universities and even the general public, thus ensuring a broad discussion that is very necessary for establishing criteria and thus guaranteeing the quality of water for human consumption.
EP Analítica ‘s laboratories have a trained technical team and qualified equipment that keeps up with the constant and historical evolution of current standards to guarantee not only the quality of water for human consumption, but also other environmental legislation.
Check out more about the Potability Analysis service that EP Analítica offers!
Article by: Leonardo Paiva, Karina Oliveira, Sérgio Nascimento
REFERENCES:
1 – FORMAGGIA, Denise. and SOUZA, Roseane. Brazilian legislation on the potability of water for human consumption: evolution and involution. Available at: https://tratamentodeagua.com.br/artigo/legislacao-brasileira-potabilidade-agua-evolucao/> Accessed on: 01 Oct. 2023.
2 – BRAZIL. Decree 79.367 of March 9, 1977. http://www.planalto.gov.br/ccivil_03/decreto/1970-1979/d79367.htm
3 – VIGIAGUA. Program for monitoring the quality of drinking water in emergency situations and natural disasters. Available at: <http://www.riocomsaude.rj.gov.br/Publico/MostrarArquivo.aspx?C=5q3m4LWPaCY%3D>. Accessed on: 01 Oct. 2023.
4 – SOUZA, Roseane. Water potability trilogy series: Past – The history and evolution of potability ordinances. Available at: <https://noticias.ambientalmercantil.com/2021/06/serie-trilogia-da-potabilidade-de-agua-no-brasil-parte-1-passado-a-historia-e-a-evolucao-das-portarias-de-potabilidade/> Accessed on: 01 Oct. 2023.
