Assessment of Bacteriological and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Drinking Water to Check the Efficacy of Water Purifier Systems

Abstract

Availability of safe drinking water is a prerequisite for survival and safeguard against various water-borne
diseases. The study was carried out with an aim to check the efficacy of water purifier systems by assessing the
bacteriological and physico-chemical parameters (temperature, turbidity, pH, TDS, chloride, total hardness,
dissolved oxygen, and free CO2) in industrial RO water samples from various outlets at Maitreyi College and
household RO and filtered water samples from two residential areas (Satya Niketan and Geeta Colony) located
in Delhi, India. The results obtained were compared with the standard values set by the World Health
Organisation (WHO) for safe drinking water. Out of total 29 samples analyzed for various physico-chemical
parameters, the values of most of the samples were found to be within permissible range. The values of some
parameters for drinking water samples collected from filter and RO purifier installed at Geeta colony were
above the maximum limit which can pose serious threats to health. The bacteriological examination was
assessed by the Most Probable Number (MPN) test and the results of EMB agar plates showed that there is
probability of presence of coliform bacteria in 3 samples. The results obtained signify that it is important to
check the purity of drinking water at regular intervals irrespective of the fact that it is filtered. Also, it is
imperative to ensure regular maintenance of purifier systems installed as they themselves might be the source of
impurity.