Quality Assurance of Water Sources in Selected Areas of Southern Eritrea: Traditionally Used as Medication for Kidney Stones

The aim of this study is to access the chemistry behind the potential use of water as medication and assure the quality of water sources in certain areas of Southern Eritrea. The sources were boreholes and lifting device varied from solar to hand-pump. Quality of the water sources were examined by measuring the physicochemical parameters, bacteriological contaminants and heavy metal contents. The digital pH meter, conductivity meter, turbid meter, flame photometer, spectrophotometer, and ICP-AES instruments were employed to access the water quality. The physicochemical parameters measured were pH, temperature, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), total alkalinity (TA), total hardness (TH), Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>, mg<sup>2+</sup>, Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mn<sup>2+</sup>, SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2-</sup>, HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, F<sup>-</sup>, Cl<sup>-</sup>, NO<sub>3</sub><sup>-</sup>, NO<sub>2</sub><sup>- </sup>and 8 heavy metals (As, Pb, Cr, Co, Ni, Fe, Cu and Zn). The obtained results for the physical and chemical parameters measured were in agreement with WHO guidelines for drinking water. The ZDM-01(turbidity), ZDD-04(Mn<sup>2+</sup>) and all samples (F<sup>-</sup>) were slightly higher than WHO recommended value. Higher amount of coliform was found at ZDM-01. In addition, the water sources at ZDM-01 and ZDM-03 were identified as NaHCO<sub>3</sub> type water which might be the possible reason for mitigating the kidney stones. This study is the baseline that requires to carry out further studies together with the health professionals in the future to cement the research output.