Study of Physicochemical Properties of Locally Packaged and Imported Bottled Water Brands

Abstract

The research study determined the levels of physicochemical water quality properties in branded locally packaged waters and branded imported bottled waters, consistent with WHO permissible threshold standards, consumed most frequently in both Harper and Pleebo cities. The following hypothesis was proposed: H0: Levels of physicochemical quality parameters of the branded locally packaged waters were not different from the branded imported bottled water H1: Levels of physicochemical quality parameters of the branded locally packaged waters were different from the branded imported bottled waters. The hypothesis was tested in MS Excel 2010 and 2016 via the T-Test function. There was significant difference in temperature between each local brand and all imported brands of water, p p > 0.05. A calibrated temperature compensated multifunction pen type water quality meter (meter model: JHL 202, backlight model: EZ-9909) was used to measure all parameters of six (6) samples of each brand of locally packaged and imported bottled waters. Results indicated temperature, EC and TDS of all samples were within WHO permissible limits. The pH values of all samples were not within the range of WHO standard; hence, all samples were acidic. The study recommended that routine testing be carried out on samples of both local and imported brands of water by the Liberia Standards Authority (LiSA).