ABSTRACT
Objective To know the cause for contamination of drinking water in a hotel. Methods Samples were taken from the reservoir 1 h, 14 h, 22 h and 33 h after contamination and the perceptible character, chemical and bacteriological test were done by using the methods in Analytical Methods for Water and Sanitary Standard for Drinking Water Quality(2001). Results The turbidity increased at 14 h after contamination and the highest level reached 3.82 NTU. The residual chlorine in tap water from the reservoir was less than 0.05 mg/L, the total count of bacteria was 940 cfu/ml, the total coliform bacteria was more than 1 600 MPN/100 ml and fecal coliforms was 130 MPN/100 ml. Conclusion The contamination of drinking water in the investigated hotel is caused by drinking water reservoir leakage, so more attention must be paid to the contamination of drinking water reservoir.