Review of Related Literature

pH Level

pH is used as a measurement of how acidic or basic a water is. Its

range goes from 0-14, with 7 being neutral. if the pH is less than 7,

it indicates acidity, while if the pH is greater than 7, then it indicates

as basic. pH is also a measurement of the relative amount of free hydrogen

and hydroxyl ions in the water. The water is acidic if it has more free

hydrogen ions, while it is basic if it has more free hydroxyl ions. Since

the chemicals in the water affects the level of pH, then it is an

important indicator of the chemical changes occurring in the water (Islam

et. al., 2017).

Drinking Water

Humans are required to have at least 1.8 to 2 liters of water

intake needed in order for them to maintain good health under normal

circumstances. Drinking water is water that is pure enough to be consumed

with low chances of risk. In many parts of the world, humans have

insufficient access to drinking water and sources that is contaminated

with disease vectors, pathogens, or intolerable level of toxins or

suspended solids. Using such water can cause a widespread of acute and

chronic illness which is a major cause of death and misery in many

countries. Because of this, the minimization of water borne disease is

one of the concerns in some developing countries as part of their public

health goal. Drinking water with various qualities is now in bottles and

is sold for public consumption around the world (Al-Omran et al., 2012).
 Water is an important element for the human beings

lifestyle’s, the existence of humans are deepened how pure water

they are drinking with that the world health organization has taken

some criteria to put international standards for the drinking

water quality (Ragan & Yahia, 2018). Regarding the quality of

drinking water, microbiological contamination is a primary problem

of developing countries. Also, inorganic contaminants, regarding

both health and aesthetic aspects, can be exists in the water

(Sorlini, 2013).

Access to safe and quality drinking water is basically one of

the most important needs of human beings and it has a major role

in public health. The targets of Millennium Development Goal were

to reach half of the proportion of people without access to safe

drinking water by 2015. This vision paved the way for the

formulation and development of Water Safety Plans, a framework and

guidelines for water suppliers to assist maintain safe and quality

drinking water (Molina et al., 2016). (Development of Water Safety

Plan Models for Water Refilling Stations in the Philippines)

Problems of Water Refilling Stations

Water refilling stations have been designed to provide clean

water however due to inconsistent maintenance the risk for

contamination exists (Fantillo & Heacock, 2017). An article in

Lifestyle Inquirer posted by (Dela Cruz & Canoy, 2015) stated that
most of the Filipino households purchase their drinking water from

refilling stations. A study found that in Metro Manila, 30 percent

of water refilling stations doesn’t have a sanitary permit and 35

percent fail to follow the correct procedure in sanitizing water

containers. Opportunities for contamination take place through

improper handling, transport and exposure to outdoor elements. In

Zamboanga City there were more than 200 water refilling stations

but only 25 had a sanitary permit. The non-compliant establishments

were issued closure due to Violations of the Philippine drinking

water standards, presence of bacteria in water sample were observed

in some establishments (Rebato et al., 2016).

A survey conducted by Pureit showed that almost 80% of water

refilling stations do not comply with Presidential Decree 856, the

Code on Sanitation of the Philippines. There are 313 water

refilling stations do not follow the safety measures to prevent

water contamination through physical contact. 257 have no face

masks, 264 have no scrub suits, 266 have no hair net and 301 have

no gloves (Lifestyle Inqurier, 2015).

It is required by the law that Water refilling stations need

to operate in accordance to the standards and regulations for the

safety health of consumers. They are expected to be knowledgeable

in the basic techniques and processes applicable to WRS to achieve

the proper management, operation and maintenance of the business

(Cope et al., 2013).

According to (Dias et al., 2012) natural mineral waters are

not free of bacteria. Various studies, showed that most frequently

found microorganisms in bottled natural mineral waters are aerobic

heterotrophs, hydrophila, Escherichia coli, and opportunistic

pathogens (Moazeni et al., 2013).

Safe drinking water

The primary purpose of the Guidelines for drinking-water

quality is the protection of public health. The Guidelines cater

the recommendations of the World Health Organization (WHO) for

managing the risk from hazards that may deal the safety of

drinking-water (WHO, 2017). The United Nation (UN) and other

countries declared access to safe drinking water as a basic right

of humans, and a fundamental step towards improving living

standards (Dinka, 2017).

Defined by the Guidelines, Safe drinking-water does not represent

any serious risk to health over a lifetime of consumption which

includes different sensitivities that may occur between life

stages. Infants, young children, and the elderly are those at

greatest risk of waterborne disease, especially when living under

unsanitary conditions.
According to United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) report,

one out of six people do not have enough access to clean water, it

is about 1.1 billion people (UNDP, 2015). In some countries,

especially in Africa, half of the population don’t have access to

safe drinking water thus, is afflicted with poor health (Davis,

2013). This is because most of the water supply facilities

initiated during the MDGs in developing countries are not working

properly.