ABSTRACT
In the past two decades, increasing number of residents of Benin City drink sachet and bottled water daily. The quality of packaged table water which directly impact the health of consumers is not guaranteed due to weak monitoring by relevant authorities, among other factors. In this study, twenty (20) samples of two (2) brands of sachet and bottle water vended in Ugbor village, Oredo Local Government Area, Benin City were analysed to determine its physical, microbiological, physicochemical and metal contents. Traditional microbiological methods, disc diffusion method and other standard methods were used in the analysis. Total heterotrophic bacterial count of the sachet and bottled water samples were within the range of 2.0 x 104 to 2.0 x 107 and 2.0 x 105 to 5.0 x 106 cfu/ml, respectively. Total fungal count of all the water samples were below 1.0 cfu/ml. The water samples did not meet the World Health Organization (WHO) specification for bacterial count (1.0 x 102 cfu/ml). The bacterial isolates encountered in the water samples were Staphylococcus aureus, Bacillus subtilis, B. cereus, Proteus mirabilis and Escherichia coli, while the fungal isolates were Aspergillus niger and A. flavus. The bacterial count of all the water samples exceeded World Health Organization WHO limits of the pH, temperature, electrical conductivity, salinity, NO3, total hardness, Cr, Zn, Ca, Cd, Cu and Mg of the water samples were within WHO limits. Whereas, dissolved oxygen, total dissolved solids, HCO3, SO42-, Fe and K content were not. Therefore, the producers of Lumia and Tar table water in Benin City need to improve their water treatment process to ensure that the general public drink safe water. The feedback from the both table water and sachet water is that they promised to ensure proper monitoring and management of the water been produced and distributed to the general public.
