Physicochemical properties and heavy metal concentrations in the drinking water of San Francisco, Agusan Del Sur, Philippines

Concerned about the safety of public drinking water supply, this study delved into the drinking water system in San Francisco, Agusan del Sur, Philippines. There were two areas of concern in this study: the physicochemical properties which include alkalinity, conductivity, pH, salinity, total dissolved solids (TDS), total hardness, total suspended solids (TSS), and turbidity; and the heavy metal contaminants which include cadmium, chromium, cobalt, copper, lead, manganese, and nickel. The physicochemical properties and chemical contaminants present in both untreated and treated water were described based on their measured levels and were evaluated using the PNSDW 2017 and WHO-GDWQ. The findings showed that there is a decrease of levels in conductivity, TSS, turbidity, and manganese after the water treatment. The levels of total hardness at 303.02 mg/L fail to conform to the PNSDW 2017 and WHO-GDWQ standards while the rest of the physicochemical properties (alkalinity, conductivity, pH, salinity, TDS, total hardness, TSS, and turbidity) are under the maximum allowable level (MAL). The levels of Cadmium, Chromium, Copper, Lead, Manganese, and Nickel are lower than the MAL value of the PNSDW 2017 and WHO-GDWQ. Manganese, which has no health-associated risk but might affect water acceptability, is measured at 0.008 mg/L and is lower than the MAL at 0.4000 mg/L in both standards. Generally, the water is not acceptable for drinking due to high levels of total hardness. Other mandatory parameters for microbiological quality are recommended to determine the suitability of the drinking water for human consumption. published by the Journal of Biodiversity and Environmental Sciences (JBES)