QUALITY OF WATER IN

PORTUGALName : Ana Sousa / Cassandra Sousa / Rui Silva

Class : 4I

Course : Profissional de Técnico de Higiene e Segurança do

Trabalho e Ambiente

Subject : Ambiente e Métodos de Análise de Risco do Trabalho

(AMART )

Teacher: Ondina Filipe

Introduction Facts:

• Water is a mineral substance, source of oxygen and hydrogen, with

singular characteristics and properties.

• It’s one of most important natural resources for all living beings and it is

essential for their survival.

• Seventy percent of the earth is made up of water.

• Ninety-seven percent of the earth’s water is in oceans and seas while two

percent is found on the icecaps.

• Seventy-five percent of the human body is made up of water and 90

percent of human blood is water.

Water quality for human consumption in Portugal

• According to the annual report on “Water Quality Control

for Human Consumption”, water in Portugal for human

consumption is excellent.

• Portuguese people can confidently drink from their taps.

• All water systems and supplies had quality control plans

and, of the approximate 700,000 tests carried out, 98

percent fulfilled the defined parameters.

Water PH

• The technical definition of pH is that it is a measure of the activity of the

hydrogen ion (H+) and is reported as the reciprocal of the logarithm of the

hydrogen ion activity. Therefore, a water with a pH of 7 has 10-7 moles per

liter of hydrogen ions; whereas, a pH of 6 is 10-6 moles per liter. The pH scale

ranges from 0 to 14.

• In general, a water with a pH < 7 is considered acidic and with a pH > 7 is

considered basic.

The water PH in Portugal

• Acidic waters ( lighter and easy to drink).

• Basic/ Alkaline waters (mineralized, heavier and easier to

be refused by consumers).

Consequences of acidic/ basic(alkaline) waters

Acidic basic

12 municipalities with bad water quality

• The Associação de Defesa do Consumidor (Consumer

Defense Association)- Deco – identified poor water quality

or improper for consumption in 12 municipalities but in

general, water in Portugal has good quality.

Diseases related to contaminated water

• Water quality, specially microbiological quality has a great

influence on men’s life. If it is not good, if it hasn’t good

quality, it may cause serious diseases and epidemics.

• Contaminated water can spread infectious diseases.

Ways of water treatment for human

consumption

• There are several ways of treating water, we just need to

choose the best one for each case.

Flocculation

Decantation

Filtration

DisinfectionFluoridation

Water Framework Directive

The Water Framework Directive is a key initiative

aimed at improving water quality throughout the EU.  It

applies to rivers, lakes, groundwater, and coastal waters. 

The Directive requires an integrated approach to

managing water quality on a river basin basis; with the

aim of maintaining and improving water quality.

Questionnaire

Which legislation regulates Water Quality for human consumption?

Decree-Law nr 306/2007, of 27 August.

Decree-Law nr 306/2007, of 27

September.

Decree-Law nr 307/2006, of 27 August

What’s the pH of water?

None of the above. 

The ph value represents the acidity of water

The ph value represents the acidity or the

alkalinity of water. 

What kind of diseases can people catch with contaminated water?

Infectious diseases. Epidemics.

Both answers are correct.

What’s the meaning of filtration?

It’s the process in which

water gets a chemical

substance called aluminum

sulfate

It is the process in which flakes

of impurity formed during

flocculation sediment in

appropriate tanks;

The water goes through several

layers of filtering material, usually

sand, to retain smaller particles

not retained in the previous

process;

What’s the meaning of decantation?

It is the process in which the

flakes of impurity formed during

flocculation sediment in

appropriate tanks;

The water goes through several

layers of filtering material, usually

sand, to retain smaller particles

not retained in the previous

process;

It is the process in which flakes

of impurity formed during

flocculation sediment in

appropriate tanks;

Bathing waters

Introdução:

• All living beings depend on water to survive. The amount

of water available has been a major factor in the

development of civilization.

• The quality of bathing waters represents not only a factor

of health, but also an important indicator of environmental

quality and tourism development.

Legislation

• The European Union (EU) introduces new legislation aimed

at improving bathing water quality. This Directive enables

water monitoring and management measures to be

improved, and information to be made available to the public.

Directive 2006/7/EC of the European Parliament and of the

Council of 15 February 2006 concerning the management of

bathing water quality and repealing Directive 76/160/EEC.

The European Union (EU) is committed to protecting

environmental quality and human health.

Diseases related to water pollution

Several diseases are transmitted by ingestion of

contaminated water or by contact. Generally, this happens

in rural areas without sanitary facilities, where waste

contaminates rivers and lakes, therefore favoring outbreaks

of hepatitis and typhoid diseases.

Death by overeating

• The release of an excessive amount of organic

substances in water, such as food waste and soaps,

present in sewage from urban areas, may cause serious

ecological imbalances. This occurs because these

substances serve as food for microorganisms that make

the decomposition of organic matter; most fish and other

creatures.

Pollution by non-biodegradable substances

• The industries have been releasing, in bays and rivers, a

large number of toxic substances such as heavy metals,

pesticides (used in agriculture), detergents, oil etc. These

non-biodegradable products, can not be decomposed by

organisms or are slowly decomposed. So it accumulates

in the bodies of living beings, causing diseases to

organisms that live in water, destroying aquatic life and

going, through the food chain, to man himself.

Identification of bathing waters and duration of the bathing season

• Under Decree-Law Nr. 135/2009 of June 3, as edited by Decree-

Law Nr. 113/2012 of May 23, the identification procedure of

bathing water goes annually and includes conducting a public

consultation from January 2 to February 2, promoted by the

Portuguese Environment Agency, IP (National Water Authority).

Monitoring the water quality

• In Portugal the sampling frequency is fixed taking into

consideration the category of bathing water, its history and

the pressures to which it is subject. Generally, water that

achieved excellent annual ranking may be sampled with

lower attendance than a bathing water that achieved

acceptable classification or that got poor rating.

Whenever you see the following warning is inadvisable to take a

bath:

Measures against water pollution

• Prohibition of dumping and imposition of heavy fines on polluting industries;

• Prohibition of manufacture non-biodegradable detergents;

• Construction of stations for the treatment of water and sewage.

• Construction of facilities to process the debris and animal waste into fertilizers for the

production of fuel gas.

• Ban the release of oil products into the sea and putting in tankers, equipment that

would separate oil from water.

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