ABSTRACT
Studies have shown that alkaline water helps neutralize acids in the body and allows for the free passage of substrate. The alkalinity of selected sachet and borehole water in Remo land were determined and the water samples were subsequently alkalised with the use of energy cup.
The untreated SW4 sachet water has the highest pH meter value of (7.2) and a pH colour chat value of (8.0) while the treated SW3 had a pH meter value of (9.9) and a pH colour chart value of (9.5) respectively. The untreated borehole water samples of BW2 has the highest pH meter value of (6.0) and pH colour chat value of (6.0) while the treated BW1 and BW2 has the highest pH value of (9.2) each and pH colour chat value of (8.0) respectively.
The experiment however highlighted the high acidic content of SW2 for sachet water, with pH of (5.2) and BW2 for borehole water, with pH of (4.8), asserting the high acidic contents. Drinking such water could pose dangerous health risks to consumers of the water.
There is a need for the intervention of appropriate regulatory agencies to ensure production of high quality sachet waters which have the WHO standard pH of 6.5 to 8.5, although the normal pH of pure water should be 7.
CHAPTER ONE
1.0 INTRODUCTION
Drinking water has always been a major issue in many countries, especially in developing countries like Nigeria (Rajini et al., 2010). In Nigeria, majority of the rural populace do not have access to potable water and therefore, depend on well, stream and river water for domestic use (Shittu et al., 2008). Water of good drinking quality is of basic importance to human physiology and man’s continued existence depends very much on its availability (Lamikanra, 1999; FAO, 1997).
The provision of portable water to the rural and urban population is necessary to prevent health hazards (Shittu et al., 2008). Supply of water is usually derived from springs, rivers, boreholes, natural lakes, streams, and reservoirs. People depend solely on wells and boreholes as their sources, in dry seasons when some of the wells would have dried, many people buy water from water tankers who hawk with their vehicle or fetch from nearby rivers to meet their daily needs. This situation may lead to water borne diseases even as water hawking business is booming in the town.
During passage through the ground, water dissolves minerals in rocks, collect suspended particulate matter, particularly those of organic sources as well as pathogenic micro-organisms from faecal matters ( Onuh and Isaac, 2009). In some areas, water sources are shared with the animals making the water dirty and contaminated. The quality and quantity of available water have implication on the health status of many communities. Over 50,000 people die daily due to water borne diseases (Shittu et al., 2008). About 2.3 billion people Worldwide have mortality and morbidity associated with water related ailment.
Water has been identified to be very important to human existence because it is very necessary for survival. Water ranked second to oxygen. A reliable supply of clean wholesome water is crucial in an attempt to promote healthy living amongst the inhabitants of a well defined geographical region (Mustapha and Adam, 1999). In an attempt to proffer solution to water problem, it was estimated that 1.2 billion people around the world does not have access to clean safe water and about 2.5 billion people are not provided with adequate sanitation (Third World Water Forum, 2003). Majority of the affected people that lack access to clean safe water and adequate sanitation are located in the developing countries because the standard industrialized global model for safe water delivery and sanitation technology is not affordable (Gadgil and Derby, 2003).
Narrowing down to Nigeria, the supply or provision of public drinking water is not reliable (Egwari and Aboaba, 2002). As a result, this has adversely affected the good health of Nigerians most especially during the dry season (Adekunle et al.,1986). In Nigeria, ground water and pipe borne (tap) water are the major sources of drinking water. These sources are said to be unsafe sources of drinking water because findings indicated that ground water sources contain trace elements, dissolved solids and pathogens in excessive quantities that may be dangerous to the health of the people. Consequently, most of the investigations carried out on ground water samples from different parts of Nigeria revealed that most of the available sources of water or water types are polluted or contaminated hence, were not fit for drinking purpose (Ogunbanjo, 2004 and Tijani, 2003). In addition, physical assessment of many public supplied pipe-borne water samples also testified to their poor quality.
The achievement or realization of the renewed global Commitments toward the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) by 2015 required the development of locally sourced alternative low cost drinking water schemes that will provide sustainable access to safe drinking water in both rural and urban settings (areas) in developing countries (UNDESA, 2004). An example of locally developed alternative of safe water provision in Nigeria is the drinking of borehole water and sachets water. In carrying out sachets water business, some small and medium scale enterprises use various production techniques and technologies to purify and package water sourced from springs, bore holes and public water main or points in sachets and plastic bottles that are sealed electrically. A sachet contains 50cl and a medium plastic bottle contains 75cl while the big plastic bottle contains 1 litre of water. The products are popularly known as pure water and bottled water. Many small and medium scale enterprises are now set up with each of them producing a particular brand hence, the availability of several brands of these types of packaged water in Nigeria and other developing Countries (Ogan, 1992; and Kasenga, 2007).
Alkalinity is a measure of the ability of water to resist changes in pH, which would tend to make the water more acidic. The pH is a value given to indicate how acidic or how basic a substance is. It is important that there is a good balance to the alkalinity of water. Alkalinity of water is due to the presence of certain ions: carbonates, bicarbonates, and hydroxides (often referred to as alkaline salts). Bicarbonates are the most common cause of alkalinity and are found in almost all natural water sources, as are carbonates. Hydroxides are found less often in natural water but concentrations may increase after certain treatments.
1.1 Aim of Research
The objective of this research work is to determine the alkalinity of some selected bottle water samples in Remoland and to confirm the efficiency of the energy cup in alkalinizing drinking water.
1.2 Justification of Research
Energy cup makes both sachet and borehole water more alkaline by separating minerals from carbonate and contain ingredients such as oxygen, nutrients, minerals e.t.c. Drinking water treated with energy cup ease respiration, increases energy, removes toxins from the body. The significance level for this study was at p