Water Quality and Factors Associated with Compliance of Drinking Water Refill Stations as An Choice for Middle-Low Urban Households in Developing Country

摘要

Drinking Water Refill Stations (DWRS) has been a growing business providing affordable price drinking water for middle-low urban households in developing country like Indonesia since last decades. However, quality control including water quality and compliance to regulations are not completely fulfilled by all DWRS. This study aimed to assess water quality, risk of recontamination, compliance to administrative-laboratory testing regulation and factors associated to it. A cross-sectional study was conducted in March-August 2017 in Bandung city. About 229 out of 659 DWRS were randomly selected, water quality and risk of recontamination from refill gallon and outlet tap were examined using swab method and membrane filter to identify colony count of Coliform/E.coli. Compliance of administrative-laboratory testing was identified based on Ministry of Health regulation. The results found water quality was ineligible in 37.6% of drinking water and 34.1% of raw water. Risk of recontamination were found in 40% of refill gallon and 25.3% of outlet tap. Only 10.5% of DWRS complied to both administrative and laboratory requirements. Factors associated with compliance were certified training and good management. Integrated system to manage and control the quality of DWRS is urgently needed to prevent the community consuming unstandardized drinking water.