59. Smith, C., Sa'id, M., and 'Abdel Wahhab, F. Bacterial Quality of Drinking-Water in Seven Villages in the Hebron Region. Birzeit University Community Health Unit and Union of Palestinian Medical Relief Committees, 1985, 7 pp.

Water samples were collected at random from households in the villages and from the main water sources, and were analyzed for fecal coliform contamination following the standard WHO procedure for fecal enumeration.

The piped chlorinated water supplies were free from dangerous bacterial contamination. The majority of cisterns, however, revealed fecal contamination, which, by WHO standards, rendered them unfit as drinking-water sources. Nevertheless, many villagers interviewed preferred to drink from their cisterns rather than from the chlorinated supply where available. It is recommended that where a chlorinated supply is present the villagers be encouraged to drink from this source.