Good day Steemians, in my last post, I wrote about why we should be careful consuming sachet water and 
As said in the previous post water is a necessity for mankind. The demand for this commodity is on the rise as the population increases. It is an immediate responsibility of the Government to provide a sustainable source of potable water for its citizenry. The case is different as several hiccups create barriers to fulfil this responsibility thereby subjecting the populace to seek alternative means of obtaining potable water.
Satisfying the need for potable water which is not provided by the government is done majorly by consuming packaged water which is sold in two forms namely:
- Plastic sachets called pure water
- Plastic bottles – this ranges in size from small polyethylene terephthalate bottles of 500 ml, 750ml, 1.5 L capacity to large cans of 20 L popularly called dispenser cans.
The question is, is the table water or water packed in dispensers safer than sachet water? Let's find out.
Asides the taste and odour, one question is this, Do we bear our health in Mind when gulping down bottled water? There are all sorts of brands in the country and consumer preference is based on the quality derived from production processes which reflects on the price. In Nigeria, bottled water and water in dispensable cans are assumed to be safer than water dispensed and sold in sachets, probably because they are more expensive and patronized mainly by people with a relatively large income.
With the involvement of institutional and government business investment, large-scale multinational companies, medium scale business enterprises, and in some cases small-scale entrepreneurs and with the use of various water purification methods which may be one of or a combination of two of chlorination, ozonisation, ultraviolet irradiation and filtration as claimed by this companies, one will expect the water produced to be safe for consumption however sachet water and bottled water has been reported to be associated with outbreaks of infections. Studies on the quality of bottled water in many parts of the country have also shown that some bottled water samples do not meet with the required microbiological quality and standard.
Even when the consumer has a choice, it is not evident that the water is safe for drinking. Why? Biological tests carried out on some samples of bottled water tell a different tale in contrast to the product hype from the producer and the look-good packaging the bottles and dispensers come with. In most cases, some unsuspecting microscopic entities might be having a full-day in your ready to consume water. You innocently send them down your throat and finding a conducive environment they get down to the business of multiplication and production of disease.
The source of the packaged water is a crucial factor that must not be overlooked.
The various water resources are; salt water, surface water and groundwater.
Surface water is accessible, while groundwater held in Aquifers is accessed by drilling wells, it is in wide use and about 90-95% of drinking water is derived from this source. The depth of the well is a determinant of how clean the water will be.
Man has been innovative in adopting these resources as a sustainable source of potable water. These natural source of water are a blessing to man. It is unfortunate that the activities of mankind result in the pollution of these resources let alone the microbes that can't help being ubiquitous. Untreated effluents from industries, solid waste and sewage, are washed into the water bodies that should be a life-saving resource. The Government is made handicapped with such menace on the rise. You see, ample opportunity is given to water-borne diseases and a bumper rise in the population of non-beneficial microbes. It is vital to have an explicit understanding of the microbes and the microbiological activities that occur in groundwater. Chemical and microbiological quality is affected by these contaminants.
Putting this into consideration, two things are bound to happen in the mind of the bottled water manufacturer.
- Adopt shortcuts and provide unsafe water but make the profit.
- Going the whole hog in providing safe, drinking water depending on his financial capacity and target goals.
How Can the Safety Be Assured?
Water treatment processes must be properly carried out to ensure that it is safe for consumption in accordance with the WHO standards. The processes involved in the treatment of water include
- Adsorption(biological predation)
- Coagulation
- Flocculation
- Sedimentation
- Filtration
- Aeration and
- Reverse osmosis.
Adsorption-biological predation is a process whereby Pathogens and dissolved organic matter are removed from water during sub-surface passage through adsorption and trapping by fine sandy materials, organic matter and clays. Microbes associated with these materials use the trapped pathogens as food. This action results in purified water and fewer microbes.
It's necessary to protect groundwater from contamination as it is widely used for drinking due to the high probability of chemicals, organic matter and other toxic compounds seeping into groundwater also wastes from septic tanks must be treated. The septic tank home treatment system comprises an anaerobic liquefaction and digestion step. Organic matter is adsorbed, microorganisms are trapped in an aerobic leach field environment where biological oxidation occurs. If the leach field becomes anaerobic due to flooding with undigested solids, biological oxidation will not take place and efficient treatment ceases.
Well water (groundwater) can be contaminated with pathogens and disease transmission may occur where there is a fractured rock in the drain containing the septic tank. The septic systems are being designed with nitrogen and phosphorus removal steps to prevent eutrophication of ponds, lakes and rivers because the subsurface water enters water bodies in the environment. contamination of well water could also be from surface waters especially during the rainy season.
I do not intend to scare you from buying packaged water as Raw natural water may not be safe for drinking until it is subjected to screening and treatment but we must know that some sachet water producers are observed to use well water or shallow boreholes.
The pipes and taps through which the water is conveyed bear populations of microbes and tougher ones like the biofilms. This can be checked by filtration which is vital as it effectively removes harmful pathogens such as protozoans, bacteria, e.t.c.
Reverse osmosis is the process of reducing salt concentration by pumping water through a semi-permeable membrane. A large quantity of the dissolved salts, minerals and bacteria are held in the semi-permeable membrane while the water molecules are passed through, making the water potable and hygienic. This process removes various undesirable elements from the water, such as sodium, zinc, sulphate, potassium and iron. Reverse osmosis is the best opportunity at hand in keeping the price of this essential resource at a minimum and creating a sustainable source of potable drinking water.
Ideally, water that undergoes proper treatment processes should be clean and safe for consumption. Dispensable water holds an economic value, in addition to its environmental friendliness in contrast to table water. Take a look at the surface waters that have become an open dump to cosmopolitans, what is it clogged with? Pet bottles and pet bottles apparently swimming on the water surface as pollutants. The cost of producing this bottles is larger than that incurred in producing dispensable bottles that can be reused.
Plastic bottles are made with plasticizers, this chemical gives the bottles flexibility. There are two main types of plastic used in making plastic water bottles:
- Polyvinyl chloride plastics (PVC): contains phthalates the most commonly used commercial plasticizer.
- Polycarbonate plastics: contain bisphenol-A (BPA).
Both phthalates and bisphenol-A are called hormone-mimicking compounds and have been found to be associated with breast and prostate cancer, infertility, asthma, and menstrual cycle irregularities.
The facts
The research work by Oluwatoyin et al., in 2014 has shown that bottled water produced by the large-scale multinational companies are of good and acceptable quality while the reverse is the case for small-scale business ventures. From the result of this work, coliforms were isolated from about 26 % of the water sampled, other organisms such as Staphylococci, Pseudomonas strains were also detected in some brands of the water samples.
This could probably be because multinationals are strictly regulated and their production facilities are equipped with sophisticated equipment operated by qualified personnel and on the other hand small scale business in most cases employ cheap labour and people with no experience of water processing, therefore, there is a need for continuous or regular inspection of packaged water producing facilities to achieve consistent production of water with acceptable microbial quality.
Another work by Onuorah et al., in 2016 also confirmed that most of the bottled water samples tested in Awka southeastern Nigeria did not comply with the set standard for drinking water. According to the authors organisms such as Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Penicillium digitatum, Aspergillus niger. Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli and Bacillus subtilis were isolated from the table or bottle water sampled.
Have you noticed that water packaged by most multinationals although might be more expensive, taste better than those produced by some other water bottling ventures?
Conclusion
The ball is in our court to open our eyes of understanding in choosing what we drink. Whether sachet water, table water or water packed in dispensable cans.
The microbial contaminations of packaged drinking water either sachet or table water could be affected by several factors such as the treatment process employed, raw water source, hygienic practices observed in production and the primary aim of the producer which might be targeted at making profit rather than satisfying the consumer by providing potable and safe water for drinking
Moreso, are the regulatory bodies in charge of controlling and monitoring standards of operation up to par? if we want to actually produce potable water that is safe and affordable.
Finally, it's not about the look-good packaged bottle or clean water dispensers but the content of the water.
Thank you for reading, hope you were able to pick something from reading this post?
I really hope that 
References
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