How is morbidity linked to water quality typically assessed?

Morbidity linked to water quality is typically assessed by evaluating health records. This approach allows health professionals to identify patterns and incidences of illness that may be associated with contaminated water sources. By analyzing health records, researchers can track diseases that are influenced by water quality issues, such as gastrointestinal illnesses, cholera, or other waterborne diseases.

In addition, this method enables a connection between specific outbreaks of illness and the water supply, facilitating public health responses and interventions tailored to improve water safety and quality. Evaluating health records provides direct evidence of the impact of water quality on population health, making it a critical tool in environmental health assessments.

The other options, while related to water in some way, do not directly assess morbidity. Counting water sources does not provide information on health outcomes; measuring rainfall does not correlate with illness data, and calculating the surface area of lakes does not yield insights into public health or water quality impacts on morbidity.