TITLE:
Quality Assessment of Five (5) Brands of Sachet Water Marketed in Bo City
AUTHORS:
Solomon K. Bona, Alhaji Brima Gogra, Bashiru M. Bashiru M. Koroma
KEYWORDS:
bacteriological, Bo city, maximum contaminant level, physical and chemical parameters., sachet water, water quality
JOURNAL NAME:
Natural Resources,
Vol.9 No.4,
April
18,
2018
ABSTRACT:
This
study covers some physical, chemical, and bacteriological parameters needed to
be tested for drinking water quality. The purpose of the research is to assess
and compare the quality of five different brands of sachet water marketed in Bo
city and to give relevant recommendation(s) were possible. The results obtained
were compared to the standard set for each parameter by the World Health
Organization (WHO) and the maximum contaminant level set by the United State
Environment Protection Agency (USEPA). Five brands of sachets water were
selected in Bo city and their physical and chemical parameters were evaluated
in the Njala University Quality Control Laboratory (NUQCL), and their bacteriological evaluation was done in the Sierra Rutile laboratory. The physical parameters tested for
were in accordance with the standards set by the WHO with the exception of the
temperatures for each brand which were above the WHO standard. The pH of all
the sachets water was in the acidic range, below the standard range and the maximum
contaminant level set by the WHO and USEPA respectively. This affected the
alkalinity of all the sachets water to be zero (0). None of the sachets water
completely met the WHO standard and the USEPA maximum contaminant level for all
the parameters tested for in this research. In this regard, none of the sachets
water is completely recommended for drinking.