Commercial Drinking Water Quality and Safety in Bo City, Sierra Leone (original) (raw)
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PloS one, 2015
Packaged drinking water (PW) sold in bottles and plastic bags/sachets is widely consumed in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs), and many urban users in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) rely on packaged sachet water (PSW) as their primary source of water for consumption. However, few rigorous studies have investigated PSW quality in SSA, and none have compared PSW to stored household water for consumption (HWC). A clearer understanding of PSW quality in the context of alternative sources is needed to inform policy and regulation. As elsewhere in SSA, PSW is widely consumed in Sierra Leone, but government oversight is nearly nonexistent. This study examined the microbiological and chemical quality of a representative sample of PSW products in Freetown, Sierra Leone at packaged water manufacturing facilities (PWMFs) and at points of sale (POSs). Samples of HWC were also analyzed for comparison. The study did not find evidence of serious chemical contamination among the parameters studied...
Journal of Environmental Chemistry and Ecotoxicology, 2021
This study was conducted to assess the physical, chemical, and bacteriological parameters of fivebrand of sachet water, and their source point consumed in Bo city, southern Sierra Leone. The physical parameters include: pH, temperature, turbidity, total dissolved solid, and conductivity; chemical parameters include: Residual Chlorine, Magnesium, Potassium, Nitrite, Ammonia; and bacteriological parameters include: Escherichia coli, fecal coliform, and non-fecal coliform. Samples were collected and conveyed to the laboratory within 30 min. The result analyzed shows that the physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters of the Spring Box, and the five-brand were in conformity with the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines. However, the pH of four-brand and the Spring Box fell below WHO standards (6.50-8.50), only Tee Spring had a pH which is within the permissible limit. The temperature of the Spring Box, and the five-Brand fell above the WHO standard (25.00°C). It can be said that the physical, chemical, and bacteriological parameters of all the five-brand and the Spring Box, are all within the WHO guidelines limit, and therefore fit for drinking.
Bacteriological and Physical Quality of Locally Packaged Drinking Water in Kampala, Uganda
Objective. To assess the bacteriological and physical quality of locally packaged drinking water sold for public consumption. Methods. This was cross-sectional study where a total of 60 samples of bottled water from 10 brands and 30 samples of sachet water from 15 brands purchased randomly were analyzed for bacteriological contamination (total coliform and faecal coliform per 100 mL) usingmembrane filtrate method and reported in terms of cfu/100 mL. Results. Both bottled water and sachet water were not contaminated with faecal coliform.Majority (70%, 21/30) of the sachetwater analyzed exceeded acceptable limits of 0 total coliforms per 100mL set byWHOand the national drinking water standards.The physical quality (turbidity and pH) of all the packaged water brands analyzed was within the acceptable limits.There was statistically significant difference between the median count of total coliform in both sachet water and bottled water brands (𝑈(24) = 37.0, 𝑝 = 0.027). Conclusion. Both bottled water and sachet water were not contaminated with faecal coliforms; majority of sachet waterwas contaminated with total coliformabove acceptable limits. Government and other stakeholders should consider intensifying surveillance activities and enforcing strict hygienic measures in this rapidly expanding industry to improve packaged water quality.
Natural Resources, 2021
Rural communities in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) are always faced with the challenge of securing safe water for beneficial uses. Most communities lack a centralized water supply system and, thus, each residence utilizes the treatment method that they can afford. This study evaluated three treatment methods for drinking water in the Njala University and Mokonde communities in southern Sierra Leone. In the perceived natural treatment, residents in the Mokonde community believe that groundwater has been purified by the soil media and, hence, does not require further treatment. In the conventional treatment, the Njala University Water Works use sand filtration and chlorine disinfection to treat water from the Taia River. The third treatment method, first flush diversion, was introduced by Njala University researchers in 2014. We studied the populations of coliform bacteria and E. coli in untreated and treated water samples to determine if each of the treatment methods supported the beneficial use of drinking. This study concludes that the natural filtration does not remove pathogens in the well water. Even though the first flush and conventional treatments were efficient in reducing microbial populations in the water, the World Health Organization's 100% removal guideline was not achieved most of the time. Therefore, all three treatment methods did not support the beneficial use of drinking. Further treatment was needed to render the water potable.
International Journal of Water Resources and Environmental Engineering, 2016
Water makes the difference between living and non-living things, base on this there is a strong need to look at the chemistry, to make sure that it is free from contamination because of chemical reaction that take place in the living cell. In the case of this study, it is critical to determine the quality of the water supplied, because of the chemical reaction. This study analyzes 10 representative well water systems for 18 quality parameters in Kakua Chiefdom of Bo District, Sierra Leone. The study note among others, well-water total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), coliform and nitrate (NO 3-) , in the region that are fairly high. The incidence of coliform in well waters is highest in April and those iron (Fe 2 +) and nitrate in May. The Dipha street well is amongst the most contaminated and TDS, Nonfaecal and fluoride (F-) have the highest scores in a three-category plot along wells. Correlation analysis among the water chemistry shows an interesting results; ranging strong positive (R=1.0) to strongly negative (R=-1.0).
Frontiers in Public Health, 2021
Many people in the world lack safe basic drinking water sources and rely on untreated water source. Packaged water can be considered as an alternative to other water sources if measures are put in place to ensure its safety for consumption. This study aimed to assess the bacteriological quality and heavy metal analysis of packaged water produced in Lusaka, Zambia and associated quality control measures. A cross-sectional study was conducted in May 2019 where 18 brands of packaged water were analyzed for total and fecal coliforms as well as concentrations of Lead, Chromium, and Cadmium. The study found that 33.5% of the packaged water produced in Lusaka did not comply with the standard for drinking water on bacteriological quality. We also found that the concentrations for Lead were <0.01 mg/l in all the 17 samples, thus compliant to WHO/ZABS standards. Concentrations of Chromium were between 0.002 and 0.62 mg/l and compliance to the standard was 11.8%. Concentrations for Cadmium ...
80 sachet water products from 10 different brands were sampled in four study locations in Aba and Port Harcourt (PH) cities respectively. Sampling was carried out by stratified simple random techniques. The products were bacteriologically assessed weekly for 12 months between January and December, 2008. Samples were exposed to sunlight (SL) and room temperature (RT) and analysis done using membrane filter (MF) procedures for coliform bacteria enumeration. Public survey to determine the possible effect of sachet water consumption on socioeconomic , health and environmental life of residents was also conducted. Results revealed absence of coliform organisms within the first and second week respectively for SL and RT samples. When compared with World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for potability, all the RT samples analyzed in Aba were within the recommended (0 to 4 cfu/ 100 ml) excellent quality grading in the 4th week while 25% of similar parameter treatment marginally exceeded the limit in PH within the same period. The coliform bacteria level for SL exposed samples in Aba for 3 rd week analysis showed an appreciable increase (16.7%) over the value (8.3%) recorded in Port Harcourt (PH) within the same period. In the 4th week, over 91.7% of the SL exposed samples were observed to have exceeded the WHO limit for excellent potable water quality in the two cities. There is growing knowledge by city dwellers that sachet water consumption and trade is responsible for a number of health related disorders ranging from waterborne infections (such as diarrhoea and gastroenteritis) to huge environmental nuisance created by the non biodegradable nature of littered sachet water nylons. The study therefore recommends adequate chemical treatment of source water, shelf-life specification on the sachet water and establishment of recycling plants to manage the growing volume of used sachet water nylons and other plastic materials littering our streets and market places.
Bacteriological quality of sachet water produced and sold in Teshie-Nungua suburbs of Accra, Ghana
African Journal of Food, Agriculture, Nutrition and Development, 2009
Access to good quality drinking water is a challenge in most towns and cities in Ghana and households have for years depended on other sources of water to supplement their activities. The introduction of sachet water to consumers was to provide safe, hygienic and affordable instant drinking water to the public. Although this is a laudable idea, current trends seem to suggest that sachet drinking water could be a route of transmission of diseases. The objective of this study was to determine the bacteriological quality of sachet water popularly known as "pure water" produced and sold in the Teshie-Nungua suburbs of Accra, Ghana, one of the areas with perennial water shortage forcing inhabitants to depend on sachet water as a source of drinking water. Using simple random sampling procedures, 30 samples from 10 brands of sachet water were collected from hawkers/vendors in Teshie-Nungua (3 samples per brand). One sachet water sample was taken from each site every fortnight for six weeks in May-June 2007. The samples were analyzed using multiple tube method and biochemical assays. Results were recorded as Most Probable Number (MPN) of coliform per 100ml of water. The bacteriological quality of the samples was assessed based on the World Health Organization (WHO) classification system for drinking water. Five (16.7 %) of the samples were Excellent, 5 (16.7%) were Satisfactory, 9 (30%) were Suspicious and 11 (36.7%) were Unsatisfactory using the MPN values recorded. Six samples were contaminated with faecal coliform and two of these, (P1 and P2) were from the same brand. Escherichia coli was also detected in the two samples (P1 and P2) out of three samples from the same brand. The level of contamination could be due to inadequate treatment of water samples by the producers, improper use of filters or post-production contamination. The findings suggest the need to enforce the laws that govern the operation of such production outfits as well as educating consumers on the need to purchase sachet water from manufacturers that have been licensed to produce water and whose product bears the stamp of the Food and Drugs Board of Ghana.
International Journal of Science, Technology and Society, 2013
Over the years, deteriorating quality of pipe borne water has urged most Ghanaians to patronize sachet water as a safer and cheaper source of drinking water. The study investigated production and vendor practices that compromise quality of sachet water in the Central Region of Ghana. Quasi experimental design-Single Group Interrupted Time Series (SGITS) was used. Six sachet water producing companies and 6 vendors who sell products from these companies were purposively selected. Three sachets (500ml) were sampled from each company and vendor totaling 36 sachets. Membrane Filtration (MF) and Multiple Tube Fermentation (MTF) were used to isolate Total coliform (TC), Fecal coliform (FC), E. coli (EC) and Total heterotrophic bacteria (TH). Borehole water 'B' had very low pH (5.3). TC was positive (141 cfu/100ml) in one water sample while all 18 water samples were positive for TH when MF was used probably as a result of the use of inefficient filters. Samples taken from vendors' sachet packages were more contaminated than those from companies using both MF and MTF. This indicates that production and vendor practices can further contaminate sachet water as was shown by the lack of good manufacturing practices such as observing personal hygiene among company staff. A more proactive approach that identifies risks and puts in place measures at critical points in sachet water production to promote and enhance overall quality will be important. The introduction of membrane filters as a more sensitive way of detecting these parameters as well as the Presence/Absence test as an inexpensive, reliable and easy test in the analysis of sachet water hopefully will help improve and maintain quality. It is recommended that the Ghana Health Services partner with the metropolis to develop a bacteriological water quality monitoring training program to help train producers of sachet water to meet standards.