Mongolia is a water-scarce land-locked country, and available water resources are utilized for multiple purposes including irrigation, food preparation, drinking water for livestock and people. Limited data availability on water hygiene means that the related risks to public health are only partially understood. This is particularly problematic due to the widespread use of unimproved water sources such as surface water and water from simple shallow wells. Based on two field surveys in the Kharaa River Basin in spring 2017 and 2018, we assessed the presence and quantity of total coliforms (TC), fecal coliforms (FC), and E. coli bacteria in surface waters and wells and investigated potential linkages between temperature and hygiene. In the Kharaa River and its tributaries, TC concentrations averaged at a most probable number of (MPN) of 754 ± 761 per 100 mL and FC concentrations at an MPN of 31 ± 33. Only small and non-significant correlations between coliform concentrations and temperature were identified. Coliforms concentrations in wells were lower (average MPN for TC: 550 ± 1286, and for FC 58 ± 253). There was considerable variation between wells, with moderate but significant correlations between temperature and bacterial counts. Low water temperatures in April and May (just above freezing to less than 6.5 °C in wells and 7.5 °C to 14.5 °C in the river system) and the positive correlations between temperature and coliform concentrations particularly for well samples indicate that further warming is likely to increase the risks of microbiological water pollution. In the future, this should be complemented by modeling at a watershed scale. This should include the consideration of a trend towards stronger rainfall events, changes in livestock density, and urban sewage treatment and discharge, which are other likely drivers of changes in water hygiene.

中文翻译：

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迅速变暖趋势下蒙古哈拉河流域不同水源的卫生条件

蒙古是一个缺水的内陆国家，可利用的水资源被用于多种目的，包括灌溉，食物准备，牲畜和人的饮用水。关于水卫生的数据有限，意味着对公共卫生的相关风险仅得到部分了解。由于未改良的水源如地表水和来自简单浅井的水的广泛使用，这尤其成问题。基于2017年春季和2018年在卡拉河流域的两次现场调查，我们评估了总大肠菌群（TC），粪便大肠菌群（FC）和大肠杆菌的存在和数量地表水和井中的细菌，并研究了温度与卫生之间的潜在联系。在卡拉河及其支流中，TC浓度的最可能平均值（MPN）平均为每100 mL 754±761，FC浓度平均为MPN 31±33。大肠菌群浓度与温度之间的相关性很小且不显着被确定。孔中大肠菌群浓度较低（TC的平均MPN：550±1286，FC 58±253）。孔之间存在相当大的差异，温度与细菌数之间存在中等但显着的相关性。四月和五月的水温低（刚好高于井中的冻结温度，低于6.5°C，井中的温度低于7.5°C至14。在河流系统中温度为5°C）以及温度和大肠菌群浓度之间的正相关关系，特别是对于井样品而言，表明进一步变暖可能会增加微生物水污染的风险。将来，这应该通过分水岭规模的建模来补充。这应该包括考虑降雨趋势加剧，牲畜密度变化以及城市污水处理和排放的趋势，这些趋势可能是水卫生状况变化的其他驱动因素。