Quality Evaluation of Sachet and Bottled Water in Isuochi Town of Abia State - South East Nigeria

Bottled and sachet water were purchased from nine (9) different communities in Isuochi town of Abia state. Physicochemical and microbiological analyses were carried out to ascertain their wholesomeness using standard analytical methods. Appearance, odour, taste, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), pH, conductivity, Total Hardness (TH), alkalinity, chloride, cadmium of all the sachet and bottled water were within the WHO, NAFDAC/SON guideline whereas chemical constituents namely zinc (2.25-41.97 mg/l), copper (1.14-5.03mg/l), calcium (2.02 – 677.4 mg/l), magnesium (0.33 – 131.32 mg/l) and iron (7.99 – 19.35 mg/l) in few samples were above the SON/NAFDAC and WHO recommended limits of 3 – 5 mg/, 1.0 mg/l, 75 mg/l, 0.2 – 0.025 mg/l and 0.3 mg/l respectively. Four out of the whole brands examined had lead levels ranging from 0.19 – 1.67 mg/l. These values were above the SON/NAFDAC and WHO recommended limits of 0.002 – 0.01 mg/l and 0.001 mg/l respectively. Also, eight out of the twenty-five satchet and bottled water were contaminated by coliform bacteria ranging from 1 – 26 cfu/ml. Escherichia coli ranging from 1 – 28 cfu/100ml were detected in more than 40% of the water samples. This is contrary to the recommendation by SON/NAFDAC that E. coli must not be detected in a 100 ml sof drinking water. However, on the average, both the bottled and sachet water were of good quality. Keywords: Quality, evaluation, sachet, bottled, water, physicochemical