Water is essential for life of all animals. However, drinking water might be of poor quality if it contains excess chemicals, nutrients or contaminants. Based on review of the scientific literature, the quality of drinking water in zoos has not been investigated.Therefore, objectives were to: 1) assess general quality of water in Association of Zoo and Aquarium zoos; 2) examine possible relationships among husbandry practices and water quality; and, 3) analyze iron concentrations in drinking water of zoos with black rhino. Forty zoos without and 10 with black rhino agreed to participate when randomly invited from a pool of 174 eligible zoos (29% response rate). Water samples were analyzed for pH, hardness, total dissolved solids, calcium, phosphorus, magnesium, potassium, sodium, iron, manganese, zinc, copper, chloride, sulfate, nitrate, total coliform, and Escherichia coli. A water quality index was used to rank overall quality among zoos. A questionnaire about husbandry practices and drinking water also was completed by a subsample of zoos (n = 39). Over 85% of zoos used municipal water primarily. Three of 50 zoos (above the 90th percentile) had poor quality water. Majority (59%) of zoos responded that drinking water quality was considered in nutritional management. However, only 18% routinely analyzed drinking water. Zoos with Black Rhino were aware of the recommendation to formulate for low dietary iron to reduce Iron Overload Disorder. However, only 2 of 8 zoos with Black Rhino routinely analyzed drinking water for iron.
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