Safe water storage is critical to preserve water quality, especially when intermittent piped drinking water supply creates a need for household storage. This study characterized household storage practices and stored water quality in 94 households (N = 94) among four peri-urban neighborhoods in Arraiján, Panama with varying degrees of supply intermittency. We found that 18 (19.1%) households stored drinking water in unsafe containers. Forty-four (47%) samples of household stored drinking water had residual chlorine levels <0.2 mg/L. While 33 (35.1%) samples were positive for total coliform bacteria, only 23 (24.4%) had >10 most probable number (MPN)/100 mL total coliform bacteria. Eight (44%) samples were positive for Escherichia coli, whereas only one (1.3%) sample from the safe containers was positive. Twenty-nine (30.9%) samples had >500 MPN/mL heterotrophic plate count bacteria. These findings suggest that longer supply interruptions were associated with longer storage times and lower chlorine residual, which were associated with higher concentrations of indicator bacteria. This is one of the first studies in the Central-American region to show an association between the lack of turnover (replacement with fresh water) and greater contamination during household water storage. Thus, when drinking water supply is not completely continuous and household storage is required, decreasing the time between supply periods can facilitate safer water storage. Public awareness and education are also recommended to increase hygiene practices during water collection and storage.

安全的水存储对于保持水质至关重要，尤其是在间歇性管道饮用水供应需要家庭存储的情况下。这项研究的特点是，在巴拿马Arraiján的四个郊区居民区中，有不同程度的供应间歇性的94个家庭（N = 94）中的家庭储水方式和储水水质。我们发现有18（19.1％）的家庭将饮用水存储在不安全的容器中。家用存储的饮用水中有四十四（47％）个样品的残留氯含量<0.2 mg / L。虽然33个样本（35.1％）的总大肠菌群呈阳性，但只有23个样本（24.4％）的总大肠菌群（MPN）数量> 10的总大肠菌群数量大于10。八份（44％）样本大肠埃希菌呈阳性，而安全容器中只有一个（1.3％）样本为阳性。二十九（30.9％）个样本具有> 500 MPN / mL异养平板数细菌。这些发现表明，更长的供应中断与更长的存储时间和更低的氯残留量相关，这与指示细菌的浓度更高有关。这是中美洲地区最早的研究之一，显示缺乏周转（用淡水代替）与家庭储水期间的更大污染之间的关联。因此，当饮用水供应不完全连续并且需要家庭存储时，减少供应时间之间的时间可以促进更安全的水存储。还建议进行公众意识和教育，以提高集水和储水过程中的卫生习惯。