Physico-Chemical Analysis of Bottled Drinking Water Available in Jaffna Peninsula

Abstract

More than thousands of bottled drinking water is sold in the Jaffna peninsula (19L, 5L, 1.5L, IL & 0.5L). People rely on the quality of bottled drinking water. In this study, attempts were made to evaluate the quality of sold bottled drinking water by physical (Total Dissolved Solid, Electrical conductivity, and pH) and chemical (Nitrate and Calcium) analysis. Bottled drinking water from 22 brands was selected which include one brand produced in Jaffna and others brought from out of Jaffna. The quality of bottled drinking water sold in Sri Lanka is regulated by SLS that the recommended and Electrical conductivity, Total Dissolved Solid, and pH range of bottled water should be 750 µS/cm, 1000mg/L, and 6.5 to 8.5 respectively. Minerals found in bottled water recommended by Sri Lankan Standard (SLS) such as Nitrate and Calcium contents are 50 and 100mg/L respectively. The entire bottled drinking water brands, which are sold in Jaffna, have very low electrical conductivity compared with SLS (750 µS/cm) and varied from 12 to 253 µS/cm with a mean of 80.53 (+60.92) µS/cm. The pH values of the bottled drinking water brands varied from 4.11 to 7.58. Only 9.09% of the bottled drinking water brands contained a pH value above the minimum permitted level (6.5) by Sri Lankan Standard. The Total Dissolved Solid content of the bottled drinking water brands was very low and varied from 9 to 123.67 mg/L with a mean of 39.5 (+30.23) mg/L. The calcium content of the bottled drinking water brands was low and varied from 6.48 to 83.77 mg/L with a mean of 49.9 (+25.09) mg/L. The nitrate content of the bottled drinking water brands was low and varied from 0.21 to 4.19 mg/L with a mean of 1.26 (+1.08) mg/L. Therefore all the drinking water brands supplied in the Jaffna peninsula have different amounts of physical properties and chemical contents that are the low and high amount which does not satisfy Sri Lankan Standards. So, RDHS (Regional Director of Health Service) should consider the specific amount of physical properties and chemical contents in bottled drinking water supplied in the Jaffna peninsula.