ABSTRACT
Consumption of sachet water and the resultant effects on human health have prompted several studies. Quality assessment of various sachet water brands sold in Owerri North local Government area of Imo State Nigeria was carried out in this study. Four sachet water brands (SWB) were selected at different batches for two months and their physicochemical parameters were evaluated. The result obtained was compared with the World Health Organization (WHO) standard for safe water. The results obtained showed that the pH, conductivity, total dissolved solid and carbon dioxide content have mean values of 6.12, 32.83 μs/cm, 17.15 mg/L and 174.25 mg/L respectively. The value of the pH suggests that some of the sachet water sold in this area have low pH levels and the concentrations of CO2 in the water samples were extremely high when compared to WHO standard value. The concentration of anions and heavy metals were within the acceptable limit of the WHO standard while some were not detected. The mean concentration were 0.031 mg/L, 0.198 mg/L, 0.156 mg/L, 0.081 mg/L, and 0.584 mg/L respectively for phosphate, nitrate, chloride, iron and zinc respectively. Magnesium and copper were not detected. Contamination and pollution models indicated low contamination, while the overall quality of the sachet water samples was excellent with mean water quality index (WQI) of 41.79. However, the results indicate that consumption of some of the sachet water sold in this area may be deleterious due to elevated pH and carbon dioxide levels. Hence the regulatory agencies should carry out routine checks to ensure that they sachet water producers comply with the regulatory standard.
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