Determination of the Microbiological Quality of Feed City Water to Pharmaceutical Facility: Distribution Study and Statistical Analysis

Supplying feeding water to pharmaceutical plant is critical both for industrial or human consumption purposes. Assessment of microbiological quality and stability is needed to determine the suitability of income city water for human application and other processing in pharmaceutical manufacturing. In the current study statistical analysis and Shewhart charts were used to determine the degree of compliance of the raw city water to the standard microbiological specifications. Although all sampling points of the distribution system met the acceptance criteria, they showed variable degrees of out-of-control states at chronologically non-identical parts of the control charts. The performance of each monitored compartment could be measured by a bioburden level which might provide indication for the disinfection efficacy. The overall capability of the process (Ppk) for each segment of the distribution system was found in the following descending order: water station (2.30), restaurant (2.25), laboratory locker (2.08) and production locker (1.86). Despite the presence of residual chlorine level, the distribution system showed variable degrees of biological instability. Thus, disinfection of feed water cannot be used as a sole measure for protection of aged distribution network and further investigation is required to improve the system quality and maintenance in demand of delivering microbiologically high quality and safe water.