Assessment of Physicochemical and Microbiological Parameters of Potable Water of Roadside Food Stall in Chattogram City

Abstract

Water is an essential element of the biophysical environment. The correlation between the quality of drinking water and human health is significant. According to the World Health Organization, almost 80 percent of illnesses and disorders in underdeveloped countries are attributed to the use of polluted drinking water. According to WHO, 90% of diarrheal diseases are caused by water consumption in Bangladesh. The drinking water quality in Bangladesh is often substandard, especially in restaurants and roadside food stalls, leading to significant health risks. Chattogram City is a place of commercial perspective and a source of variable kinds of jobs and work; there are abundant roadside food stalls that cover the demand for food for different classes of people. The water that is served for drinking purposes is not hygienic and healthy. The source of water and handling of water are not conducted with hygienic conditions. That is why this study was conducted to evaluate the acceptability and hygiene of the water of these food stalls. The study estimated the physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of water, collected from roadside food-stall. The study period was from September 2023 to February 2024, when a total of 27 samples of food-stall water were collected from nine crowded sites of Chattogram. In physicochemical parameters, the Turbidity and Alkalinity of all samples are within the acceptable limit of BDS and WHO; whether 26% of samples are below pH 6.5 (slightly acidic) and 25.9%, 11.1%, 11.1%, 7.4%, 7.4% samples are above the permissible limit (BDS and WHO) of EC, TDS, Hardness, Chloride value, Salinity, respectively. In microbiological analysis, 95.5% of samples contain Total Coliform bacteria expressed as MPN index, whether 30.2%, 11.1%, 7.9%, or 6.3% are Klebsiella spp., Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Salmonella spp., Escherichia coli, Pathogenic microbes respectively in total water samples confirmed by PCR identification test. The findings of the study are based on the one health approach, which does not meet the acceptable limit for drinking purposes, especially from a microbiological perspective.