Safety of Drinking Water from Primary Water Sources and Implications for the General Public in Uganda
Table 2
Drinking water safety assessment using cutoffs from local and international regulatory agencies.
Regulatory bodies
BHW
BotW
OW
SW
TW
95% significance
values (conclusions based on mean differences)
Fe ()
()
()
()
()
()
UNBS
0.4834 (high)
NA (low)
0.3484 (high)
0.0099 (low)
0.6934 (low)
All safe
US-EPA
0.4834 (high)
NA (low)
0.3484 (high)
0.0099 (low)
0.6934 (low)
All safe
EU
0.3139 (high)
NA (low)
0.2647 (high)
0.0151 (low)
0.8763 (high)
All safe
WHO
0.4834 (high)
NA (low)
0.3484 (high)
0.0099 (low)
0.6934 (low)
All safe
Pb ()
()
()
()
()
()
UNBS
0.0701 (high)
0.0223 (high)
0.0197 (high)
0.0353 (high)
0.0103 (high)
Accept BHW
US-EPA
0.2027 (high)
0.1109 (high)
0.0574(high)
0.3005 (high)
0.0545 (high)
All safe
EU
0.0701 (high)
0.0223 (high)
0.0197 (high)
0.0353 (high)
0.0103 (high)
Accept BHW
WHO
0.0701 (high)
0.0223 (high)
0.0197 (high)
0.0353 (high)
0.0103 (high)
Accept BHW
Zn ()
()
()
()
()
()
UNBS
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
US-EPA
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001(low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001(low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
EU
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
0.0002 (low)
All safe
WHO
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
0.0002 (low)
All safe
Cd ()
()
()
()
()
()
UNBS
0.1403 (high)
0.0177 (high)
0.0066 (high)
0.0011 (high)
0.0053 (high)
Accept BHW
US-EPA
0.0223 (low)
0.0117 (low)
0.0209 (low)
0.0011 (low)
0.479 (low)
All safe
EU
0.0223 (low)
0.0117 (low)
0.0209 (low)
0.0011 (low)
0.479 (low)
All safe
WHO
0.1403 (high)
0.0177 (high)
0.0066 (high)
0.0011 (high)
0.0053 (high)
Accept BHW
Cu ()
()
()
()
()
()
UNBS
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
US-EPA
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
EU
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
WHO
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
<0.0001 (low)
All safe
BHW = borehole water; BotW = bottled water; OW = open well; SW = spring water; TW = tap water. Fe = iron; Pb = Lead, Zn = zinc; Cd = cadmium; Cu = copper. = number of samples detected by atomic absorption spectrometry (AAS). NA = not applicable since mean was not calculated. Regulatory monitoring agencies included UNBS = uganda National Bureau of Standards, US-EPA = United States Environmental Protection Agency, EU = European Union, and WHO = World Health Organization. The one-sample t-test conducted against respective metals with hypothetical means set by different international regulatory agencies and values is included from which conclusions on safety were made.
