The Cost and Quality of Bottled Water in Refilling Stations and Tap Water in Cabanatuan City: A Comparative Study

This study compared the quality of tap water given by the Cabanatuan City Water District – Prime Water Cabanatuan to replenished filtered water and bottled water obtained from water refilling stations. Water samples, in particular, had been tested in the lab for microbiological, physical, and chemical quality. Parameters include heterotrophic plate count, total coliform, thermotolerant coliform/Escherichia coli, total dissolved solids, pH, and turbidity. It was found that water supplied by Cabanatuan City Water District – Prime Water Cabanatuan City is cheaper, safe, and passed the Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water of 2017 compared to bottled water samples from refilling stations. However, despite the availability of potable water provided by the city water district, it is difficult to convince the public to adopt the behavior of drinking tap water instead of bottled or refilled purified water.