Un nuevo enfoque para la evaluacion de la calidad del agua potable\rA new approach to potable water quality evaluation

Abstract

A new procedure for drinking water quality evaluation is proposed in order to compare different potable waters, with a view to providing support to the decision taking process on possible risks that these represent to human health, taking into account most of the relevant attributes. Applying tools of common use in the Operations Research area, the main factors involved in drinking water quality were defined with the aim of minimizing those factors. The hierarchical structure established leads to a weighted additive expression for a quality index that incorporates aspects regarding sensorial rejection, the presence of pathogen organisms and toxic substances.