When people hear “100%”, many may think it is unattainable. Much like there is no perfect person, few tasks can be executed flawlessly. This leads some to assume that full compliance for surface drinking water sources cannot be achieved. However, while reaching complete compliance poses great challenges, it is not out of reach, as proven by real-world implementation cases.

Case of fully compliant surface drinking water sources in Hebei, China (source: online public data)

Back in 2017, Hebei achieved full compliance across six surface drinking water sources. According to the monthly report released in January that year, all 9 monitored surface drinking water sources and 29 groundwater drinking water sources met relevant water quality standards.

Statistics also showed that overall water quality improved notably compared with the same period of previous years and remained stable month-on-month. The water body was classified as moderately polluted, with primary pollutants including conventional indicators such as COD, BOD and ammonia nitrogen.

Fourteen key lakes and reservoirs were monitored that month. Excluding total nitrogen testing, 10 reservoirs reached Class II water quality, representing excellent water conditions, though heavily polluted water areas still existed.

Regarding drinking water quality compliance, operators properly treat wastewater and use water quality analyzers to test multiple parameters and verify treatment results. The process may sound straightforward, yet the complexity of water composition creates many hurdles in water treatment workflows. Issues may arise that compromise treatment performance or affect monitoring accuracy.

Rather than overlooking such challenges, technical teams troubleshoot problems actively. This practice helps build professional expertise, deepen understanding of treatment processes, improve operational performance over time and reduce avoidable errors.