Final Lab Report

Quality of drinking water

Justin Butler

SCI 207: Our Dependence upon the Environment

Instructor John Gomillion

July 17th 2017

Introduction

Water is a fundamental resource to human beings. Every person on earth requires safe water for drinking and cooking. Contaminated water is health risk and deadly because it causes serious diseases many of which can be prevented. These diseases affect education and productivity and they may cause death. Contamination of drinking water occurs mostly at their sources which are unprotected. These sources include rivers, streams, lakes and other ground water reservoirs. Appropriate treatment should be done to make water safe for drinking. Access to clean water is essential to human beings because it improves their living standards (Strauss et al., 2001).

Various studies have done research on quality of drinking water. Some studies have done their research in schools while others in household level. They have assessed the quality of water from their source to the point of drinking. One of the studies aimed at identifying the critical points of contamination of drinking water and the treatment measures. This study assessed 347 water sources and 81 households. It used Escherichia coli in measuring quality of water. According to the study, the contamination of water increased from the water point to the drinking vessels. The study contends that the common methods of treatment used were boiling and solar disinfection of water. According to the study, these home-based interventions did not guarantee safe drinking water (Rufener et al., 2010).

Treatment of sewerage water has not been effective in urban areas. This waste water has been deposited in water bodies causing water pollution. Poor rural communities depend mostly on these polluted sources of water. The waste in rural areas is also not managed properly because of lack of improved sewerage systems. Bolivia is one of the poorest countries which 40 percent of people living in extreme poverty. This makes it difficult for rural people to access proper water treatment methods. There is increased number of non-communicable diseases due to use of unsafe drinking water. The objective of this current research is to assess the quality of drinking water in rural communities of Bolivia. It also aims at assessing the effectiveness of the treatment measures of drinking water used in these rural communities. The study will identify the measures for improving access of safe drinking water in these rural communities ((Rufener et al., 2010).

The hypothesis of this current research is that drinking water from bottled water has high quality as compared to tap water because it has more health benefits associated with it. This is because there is pollution of water accessed from the source to the drinking cup. The waste water in urban areas is also thrown in water points which are relied upon by rural communities. The buckets used in carrying water from the source are rarely cleaned inside. Due to these challenges, rural communities suffer from preventable diseases which cost their lives.

Materials and methods

Materials used in this current study are Dasani bottled water, Fiji bottled water, Jiffy Juice, 4 in 1 test strip, 250 mL Beakers, Tap water and stopwatch. This current study selected the households from rural communities by use of random sampling method. Every fourth household was enrolled in the study. In the initial meeting with community groups, the purpose of study was explained to them.60 households were enrolled for the study and they all participated in the study. Water samples were taken from 120 water sources and also from their drinking vessels. 4 in 1 test strip was used to measure the quality of water. This test strip was used to measure the total chlorine, total hardness and total alkalinity. The PH was measured using Jiffy Juice. The PH key is used to determine the PH of the tap water, Fiji bottled water and the Dasani bottled water.

Results

The sources of water in these rural communities were mostly from dug wells which had hand-pumps. There was also tapped and piped water systems. The household visited showed that 48 percent used plastic cups, 28 percent used cups made of metals and 16 percent used cups made of glass. 96 percent of the households washed their drinking cups. 80 percent of the households treated water using boiling method.

From the study, the quality of drinking water deteriorated gradually from the source points to the drinking cups. The 4 in 1 test strip showed that in the water points the PH of 8.5, total alkalinity of 50mg/l, and total chloride of 140mg/l. The rural people rarely access bottled water.

Discussion

From the study, it is clear that rural communities do not access quality drinking water. The tests results from the water sources showed that the quality of water was poor. The quality continued to deteriorate up to the drinking cups. This is because the buckets and barrels used to carry water were not washed thoroughly. Although they treated water through boiling, the quality improved for a while and then it deteriorated again in the drinking cups. This showed that there was recontamination before drinking. This showed that quality of drinking water is higher in bottled water than in tap water.

The previous studies are in agreement with our study that the quality of drinking water deteriorates after collection and also to the point of drinking. Inadequate cleanliness of storage is the source of contamination of drinking water in the households. This problem is applicable to all households in rural communities in the world. The stains in the inner surface of the container are the cause of the contamination.

Conclusion

The findings of the study showed that many households used uncovered buckets for transportation of water from water source to home place. Some also stored water while uncovered and this caused contamination of water. The use of narrow-mouthed containers could prevent contamination of water during transportation and storage. Cleaning of the inner surface of the buckets and also cleaning drinking cups could also reduce contamination of water. Hygiene practices will ensure safe drinking water (Fewtrell et al., 2005).

References

Rufener, S., Mäusezahl, D., Mosler, H. J., &Weingartner, R. (2010). Quality of drinking-water at source and point-of-consumption—drinking cup as a high potential recontamination risk: a field study in Bolivia. Journal of health, population, and nutrition, 28(1), 34.

Fewtrell, L., Kaufmann, R. B., Kay, D., Enanoria, W., Haller, L., &Colford, J. M. (2005). Water, sanitation, and hygiene interventions to reduce diarrhoea in less developed countries: a systematic review and meta-analysis. The Lancet infectious diseases, 5(1), 42-52.

Strauss, B., King, W., Ley, A., &Hoey, J. R. (2001). A prospective study of rural drinking water quality and acute gastrointestinal illness. BMC Public Health, 1(1), 8.