Abstract:

Objective To understand the status of water quality detection ability of centers for disease control and prevention（CDCs） at all levels in Tianjin，identify existing issues during the transition between the old and new national standards，and provide references for the enhancement of water quality detection ability. Methods A self-designed questionnaires were used to investigate the water quality detection ability of 17 CDCs in 2022，2023，and 2025，including 1 at the province level and 16 at the district level，and the data were analyzed. Results The provincial CDC maintained full analytical capability for all target parameters and holded valid China Metrology Accreditation（CMA）. District-level CDCs were categorized into three groups for analysis：urban districts（6），suburban districts（5），and outer suburban districts（5）. From 2022 to 2025，the M（P₂₅，P₇₅） values of regular indices detection capabilities for the three groups（urban districts，suburban districts，and outer suburban districts） increased from 38（36，39），38（35，39），and 38（35，39） to 41（38，41），41（41，42），and 41（39，42） items，respectively；The non-regular （expanded） indices detection capabilities increased from 1（1，4），2（1，11），and 1（1，16） to 10（6，31），19（10，27），and 15（8，26） items，respectively；And the full indices detection capabilities increased from 40（38，43），40（36，50），and 40（39，54） to 50（45， 72），62（51，68），and 57（48，67） items，respectively. For comparisons between groups within the same year，only the expanded indices detection capabilities in 2023 showed a statistically significant difference among the three groups（P<0.05）. For comparisons within the same group across different years，statistically significant differences were found in the availability rates of non-regular（expanded） and full indices for the urban districts group，in the availability rates of regular，non-regular（expanded） and full indices for the suburban districts group，and in the availability rates of non-regular（extended） and full indices for the outer suburban districts group（all P<0.05），while other differences were not statistically significant（all P>0.05）. There were not statistically significant differences in CMA（all P>0.05）. Four reasons for lack of detection ability were lack of equipment，lack of testing personnel，lack of standard products，and lack of reagents. Conclusion The development of water quality detection ability across various indices in Tianjin is relatively balanced. There was a significant improvement between 2022 and 2025，with current capabilities meeting the operational requirements for sanitary monitoring of drinking water. However，the capacity reserve and development of capabilities are weaker，and the proportion of CMA is also lower. It is recommended to secure funding support，undertake equipment renewal，and conduct technical training to ensure water quality detection ability for both regular indices and characteristic indices reflecting local water quality conditions. Efforts should also be made to progressively expand water quality detection ability for expanded indices and emerging contaminants，thereby strengthening the overall construction of water quality detection ability.

Key words: Drinking water, Detection capability, Regular indices, Non-regular indices, Expanded indices, Centers for disease control and prevention