TY - JOUR
T1 - Measured and Modeled Comparisons of Chemical and Microbial Contaminants in Tap and Bottled Water in a US-Mexico Border Community
AU - Wilson, Amanda M.
AU - Victory, Kerton R.
AU - Reynolds, Kelly A.
AU - Cabrera, Nolan L.
AU - Larson, Daniela
AU - Latura, Joyce
AU - Sexton, Jonathan D.
AU - Burgess, Jefferey L.
AU - Beamer, Paloma I.
N1 - Funding Information:
The authors thank the families who agreed to participate and the promotoras for their help in conducting this study. Funding for this research was provided by the Water, Environmental, and Energy Solutions (WEES) through the University of Arizona Technology and Research Initiative Fund (TRIF). They would also like to acknowledge MCHC for their assistance and support and the families for their participation in this research project. They thank Ariana Muñoz for her assistance in field collection and analysis of the samples. K.R.V. was supported by a Water Sustainability Graduate Fellowship from the University of Arizona. A.M.W. was supported by a Career Development Award from the University of Arizona Health Sciences. A.M.W., P.I.B., and J.L.B. were supported by the Southwest Environmental Health Sciences Center (P30 ES006694). P.I.B. was also supported by a K-award from the National Heart, Lung, and Blood Institute (K25 HL103970). The publication’s contents are solely the responsibility of the authors and do not necessarily represent the official views of the National Institutes of Health.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2022 by the Author(s).
PY - 2022/12/9
Y1 - 2022/12/9
N2 - Tap water quality concerns and advertisements often drive increased bottled water consumption, especially in communities with historical tap water quality problems (e.g., Nogales, Arizona). The study objective was to assess the contamination of municipal tap and bottled water in Nogales, Arizona. Bottled (sealed, open/partially consumed bottles, and reusable containers for vended water) and tap water samples were collected from 30 homes and analyzed for chemical and microbial contaminants. Fisher exact tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare the proportions of positive samples and contaminant concentrations between tap and bottled water samples. While none of the chemical contaminants were above MCLs, there were statistically significantly greater concentrations and proportions of positive samples for some contaminants, including arsenic, in tap versus bottled water. Escherichia coli concentrations were >0 CFU/100 mL in some unsealed bottled water samples but not in sealed bottles. This study demonstrates that (1) the measured concentrations in tap and bottled water likely pose low risks as they are below the MCLs, (2) more education in this community on hygiene maintenance of refillable or opened bottled water containers is needed, and (3) using tap water over bottled water is advantageous due to likely lower E. coli risk and lower cost.
AB - Tap water quality concerns and advertisements often drive increased bottled water consumption, especially in communities with historical tap water quality problems (e.g., Nogales, Arizona). The study objective was to assess the contamination of municipal tap and bottled water in Nogales, Arizona. Bottled (sealed, open/partially consumed bottles, and reusable containers for vended water) and tap water samples were collected from 30 homes and analyzed for chemical and microbial contaminants. Fisher exact tests and Wilcoxon rank sum tests were used to compare the proportions of positive samples and contaminant concentrations between tap and bottled water samples. While none of the chemical contaminants were above MCLs, there were statistically significantly greater concentrations and proportions of positive samples for some contaminants, including arsenic, in tap versus bottled water. Escherichia coli concentrations were >0 CFU/100 mL in some unsealed bottled water samples but not in sealed bottles. This study demonstrates that (1) the measured concentrations in tap and bottled water likely pose low risks as they are below the MCLs, (2) more education in this community on hygiene maintenance of refillable or opened bottled water containers is needed, and (3) using tap water over bottled water is advantageous due to likely lower E. coli risk and lower cost.
KW - E. coli
KW - disinfection byproducts
KW - drinking water contaminants
KW - maximum contaminant level
KW - water containers
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U2 - 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00400
DO - 10.1021/acsestwater.2c00400
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:85142051069
SN - 2690-0637
VL - 2
SP - 2657
EP - 2667
JO - ACS Environmental Science and Technology Water
JF - ACS Environmental Science and Technology Water
IS - 12
ER -