PHYSICO-CHEMICAL ANALYSIS OF COMMERCIAL SACHET WATER IN AGUATA LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF ANAMBRA STATE

The physicochemical analysis of four samples of commercial sachet water bought from Ekwulobia in Aguata L.G.A of Anambra State was carried out using an Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer (AAS). The four samples were emptied into four different volumetric flasks filtered with filter paper and digested with Nitric Acid. The concentrations of heavy metals in the samples were determined. The AAS analysis revealed the presence of Iron (0.073-0.115mg/l), Nickel (0.0000-0.0111mg/l), Cadmium (0.05-0.127 mg/l), Magnesium (1.351-7.024mg/l), and Chromium (0.00-17.60mg/l) at varying concentration of the four different samples. The concentration of Chromium (17.60mg/l) was the highest, while that of Nickel was the lowest. The physico-chemical parameters determined include; colour, odour, taste, temperature, hardness, pH and conductivity. These parameters were compared with the acceptable standards of the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON). The colour, odour and taste propertiescorrespond with WHO and SON standards, but hardness, pH, and conductivity varied. The hardness and pH were low, while conductivity was high, compared with WHO and SON standards. It is recommended that quality assurance tests should be carried out from time to time on water samples to ascertain standard quality.