Abstract

Access to good quality drinking water in Minna and, indeed, other parts of Niger State is one of the biggest challenges to many households which have, for years, depended on other sources of water to augment the erratic supply made by the government. In an effort to ensure adequate supply, packaged water has been introduced to provide safe, hygienic and affordable drinking water. However, trends have implicated some packaged water as agents of disease transmission. In this work, the physicochemical and coliform analyses of selected packaged water, otherwise called “pure water” were carried out. Ten brands were collected from the packaging factories (5 samples per brand) and were analysed weekly for four weeks. Results obtained were compared with WHO and EPA standards for drinking and recreational water. Their pH values, except for Sabo Best (6.26 ± 0.02), were within the stated WHO/EPA standards (6.50 - 8.50). The coliform levels of FUTMin (75.00 ± 2.00), Happy Days (75.00 ± 2.00) and Carry More (23.33 ± 0.33), based on the most probable number (MPN), were unfit for potability since they could also contain other microorganisms implicated in gastro-intestinal water borne diseases. The respective 1.63 ± 0.10 and 1.54 ± 0.10 mg/dm³ for Evershine and Supreme waters were above the 0.3 mg/dm³ iron standard just as the respective copper and nitrate values of 1.19 ± 0.14, 1.27 ± 0.10, 1.48 ± 0.10 and 86.81 ± 0.62, 124.47 ± 1.36, 141.70 ± 0.00 mg/dm³ for Golden Age, Supreme and Sabo Best were higher than the respective 1 and 50 mg/dm³ standards for copper and nitrates. All other parameters were within the EPA and WHO values.

Key words: Packaged water, coliform, Escherichia coli, most probable number (MPN), potability, gastro-intestinal.