CHAPTER I

INTRODUCTION

Background of the Study

Water is one of the most important and ubiquitous molecules on

the surface of our planet and in living organisms. It has very specific

properties which are responsible for its very broad utilisation in nature

and our daily life. The water crisis is a health crisis. According to World

Health Organization (WHO) 3.4 million people, mostly children, die

annually from water-borne diseases. As of 2010, 16% of Filipino

households lacked access to clean and potable water, the National

Statistical Coordination Board reported. Annually, around 6,000

Filipinos die prematurely from such diseases due to poor water system of

the country. In fact, diarrhea is the country’s second leading cause of

death, the Department of Health (DOH) stressed.

Even in Manila, the country’s capital only about three fourths of

the population receives piped water from the municipal authority.

Outside Manila far fewer people have access to clean water distribution.

In present times due to poor environmental conditions such as pollution

perhaps, every source of water supply is possibly contaminated. In order

to avoid cholera epidemics or other health problems spawned by the foul

these families should have alternative source of water the families in

these areas. In the provinces or other secluded areas the scenario is

worse. Some people rely on wells or even on rivers for their supply of

water for their daily consumption which is uncertainly safe to consume.

Due to the demand for safe and potable water supply an influx of

purified water refilling stations has come into picture. These water

refilling stations sells ‘purified’ water— mechanically filtered or processed

to remove its impurities.

Many source their drinking water from neighborhood refilling

stations, because most Filipinos do not drink from the tap because they

are particular about the taste of their drinking water, and because

internal household pipes are often left unmonitored, but these also fail to

provide quality assurance.

According to Magtibay (2011), water refilling stations can be a good

source of safe drinking water in the Philippines. Purified water can meet

the aesthetic standards easily detectable by the people in terms of taste,

odor and color. The efficient water purification processes can make the

quality of water superior to the traditional water systems. However, the

risk of contamination is possible if the handling practices are not closely

monitored.
 In Western Visayas out of the 504 water refilling station, only 154

have been accredited by the DOH. In short, 70 percent are operating

sans the necessary health inspection. DOH records show that of the 113

registered water refilling stations in Iloilo City, only 23 have secured the

necessary DOH sanitary permits. City health officer Urminico Baronda

pointed out that drinking bottled water does not guarantee safety, most

of these lack safety seals. “We should not wait for things to happen

before agencies concerned look into the matter of water refilling stations

peddling ‘unsafe’ bottled water”, City Mayor Treñas added in regards to

the warning. On-site tests showed that some refilling stations use

improvised filtering machines several have damaged, broken or rusty

devices.

Bacolod, too, has its share of the problem. Of the city’s 104

registered water refilling stations, only 34 are operating with sanitary

permits. It’s worse in Aklan where only four of 28 water refilling stations

have complied with the DOH requirement. The situation in Capiz is

better. Of the 54 registered stations, 36 have sanitary permits.

Guimaras, on the other hand, have five registered water refilling stations

but only two are equipped with the necessary sanitary permits.

Iloilo province, only 34 have been DOH-accredited out of 103 registered

refilling stations. In Negros Occidental, there are 17 water refilling

stations equipped with the necessary permits out of the 88 registered to

operate.

Water refilling stations have grown rapidly. Most of the water

refilling stations is connected to the pipes of Water District for their

source of raw water while in other areas they opt to use private deep

wells. The purified water supplied by the providers is then further

purified by utilizing a combination of water treatment equipment, such

as sediment filters, carbon filters, water softeners, reverse osmosis

membranes, ultra-violet lamps, and ozone generators. Typical water

refilling stations can produce 3,000 to 12,000 liters of purified water per

day. With such an increase of water refilling stations, how do they

manage operating their water refilling stations? Do they comply

necessary permits? Do they go to accredited water testing agency to

conduct their quality of water analysis? This is what the researches of

this study would like to unveil.

In the course of this study, the researches aims to assess the

operational performance of the water refilling stations and how much

they can do to make their water stations clean and safe drinking water

purposes in the Philippines specifically on the area of City of San

Fernando La Union. In the provinces aforementioned the problem seems

to be that while DOH officials have aired warnings about the need for
health certification before business permits are issued to water refilling

stations, how come so many are operating? In this case, if in other parts

of the country such problems exist it is possible that these problems also

occur in San Fernando, La Union.

With this, the researchers will be conducting an study of the

Operational Performance of Purified Water Refilling Stations in San

Fernando, La Union to provide business profile and operational

performance of each water refilling stations to propose an action plan for

the Local Government Unit (LGU) enforcing that they submit a monthly

water analysis to check the quality of water whether their product is

clean and safe to drink. Also, to increase the level of compliance to the

specific rules of Department of Health (DOH) on how refilling stations

should prepare, refill, handle, store and deliver water.

Conceptual Framework

The basic framework to conduct the study, Operational

Performance Of Purified Water Refilling Stations in San Fernando City,

La Union is shown in the research paradigm. It consists of the input,

process, and output. The input consists of:

 Figure 1. The Research Paradigm

INPUT PROCESS OUTPUT

Operational Propose a
Performance of Purified
strategic plan
Water Refilling Station
in San Fernando, La requiring each
A
Union in terms of: water refilling
a) Compliance with descriptive
stations in
sanitary permit
research method
b) Maintenance of San
for collecting data
filtering machines Fernando, La
c) Sources of water was employed
Union to
supply
through
d) Quality of ‘purified’ submit
questionnaires
water concerning the monthly water
following structures: and interviews to
analysis
 Potable water
the owner and
analysis by containing all
staff of the
seeking their the necessary
certificates for purified water
scope to
water testing;
refilling stations.
 Handling process; ensure the

 Storing refill purity of

bottled water;
water and for
 Types of vehicle to
be used safety.
Statement of the Problem

This research aims to assess the operational performance of

purified water refilling stations with the set standards by the Department

of Health (DOH) in San Fernando City, La Union.

Specifically, it seeks answers to the following questions:

1. Do all the operating water refilling stations in San Fernando, La

Union comply with sanitary permit?

2. What are the sources of their water supply?

3. What are their station operations and practices in maintaining

their filtering machines?

4. What is the level of compliance in the quality of purified water

along the following structures?

a) Potable water analysis;

b) Handling process;

c) Storing refill bottled water;

d) Types of vehicle to be used?

5. Based from the result of the study, what recommendations can

be proposed to improve the services of water refilling stations?

Hypotheses or Assumptions

The level of compliance of Purified Water refilling stations with the

requirements of DOH is moderate in terms of:

a) Compliance with sanitary permit

b) Maintenance of filtering machines
c) Sources of water supply
d) Quality of ‘purified’ water concerning the following structures:
 Potable water analysis by seeking their certificates for water
testing;
 Handling process;
 Storing refill bottled water;
 Types of vehicle to be used

Importance of the Study

Purified Water Refilling Station is an alternative source of potable

drinking water yet not all bottled water does guarantee safety, they may

also fail to provide quality assurance. Thus, this study aims to know the

Operational Performance of Purified Water Refilling Stations in San

Fernando, La Union. Moreover the following are expected to benefit:

The local community or the consumers may be enlightened

and informed about the source of their drinking water which is only from
registered water refilling stations who consistently and fully comply with

DOH guidelines and the Philippine National Standards for Drinking

Water (PNSDW).

The Department of Health may adopt this study as a reference to

increasing the level of compliance of the water refilling stations to their

health standards.

The Local Government Unit may use this study to make an action

plan about ensuring that all the Water Refilling Stations will submit a

monthly water analysis to ensure the safety of their products.

Definition of Terms

To give the readers a clearer idea and explanation of this study, the

following terms are defined.

Distilled Water. This refers to the water produced by vaporization

and condensation with high purity. Many impurities have been removed

through distillation, producing superior quality of water.

Operational Performance. This refers to the firm’s performance

measured against standard or prescribed indicators of effectiveness,

efficiency, and environmental responsibility such as, cycle time,

productivity, waste reduction, and regulatory compliance.

Purified Water. This refer to water that is mechanically filtered or

processed to be cleaned for consumption.

Water Quality. This refers to chemical, physical, biological, and

radiological characteristics of water. It is measure of the condition of

water relative to the requirements of one or more biotic species and or to

any human need or purpose.

Water Refilling Stations. This refers to the selling for profit either

wholesale or retail of water placed in refillable water containers or in

customer’s containers in refilling stations.

 CHAPTER II

Review of Related Literature

In this literature review, presents selected readings, survey results

and related studies conducted globally and locally to provide further

support for this study.

Foreign Literature

There are two main sources of welfare; manmade capital and

services of natural capital. Although the scarcity of manmade capital, i.e.

consumer goods, has been reduced to a low level for much of the world

since the Industrial Revolution, the abundance of the goods and services

produced by nature itself is threatened by human attributes that tend to

increase consumption while exhausting the resources (Daly & Farley,

2011). Water is one of nature’s resources thus it is a necessity of all

living creatures in the world.

Water use has been increasing worldwide by about 1% per year

since the 1980s, driven by a combination of population growth, socio-

economic development and changing consumption patterns. Global water

demand is expected to continue increasing at a similar rate until 2050,

accounting for an increase of 20 to 30% above the current level of water

use, mainly due to rising demand in the industrial and domestic sectors.

Over 2 billion people experience severe water scarcity during at least one
month of the year. Stress levels will continue to increase as demand for

water grows and the effects of climate change intensify.

(unwater.org/publications/world-water-development-report-2019)

It is now of concern to an increasing number of researchers that

some parts of the world, especially the developing countries, are already

suffering from the lack of clean water supply, which is originated from

several factors such as urbanization, population growth and

industrialization (Kessides, 2004; Biro, 2012; Dixit, 2008). Water has

been considered as a public and social good for years with the arguments

that every human being needs water to survive and everyone is supposed

to have access to it regardless of their qualifications (Brei & Böhm, 2011;

WHO & UNICEF 2005). Sripad and Osberg (2010) suggest that water has

no close substitute and it is vital for life, which gives it a less elastic

demand than the demand for other goods. However, the wide recognition

of water as an economic good started with the Dublin Conference on

Water and the Environment in 1992 (Savenije, 2002). Recent arguments

suggest that water is a scarce resource whose management requires a lot

to invest in its infrastructure and distribution (McIntyre, 2011; Rodriquez

et.al, 2012) and that water is usually misused when the users are not

supposed to pay for it (Mackwara, 2011; Savanije & Zaag, 2002).

Constituting probably the earliest, yet still inspiring discussions

on the value of water, Adam Smith brought up the comparison between

water and diamond trying to answer the question of why water has no

value in exchange while it has great value in use unlike a diamond with

great value in exchange but no value in use. David Ricardo, in response

to Smith, raised the question of “Why is water without value, but

because of its abundance?” implying that the value of water is

determined by its scarcity and the equilibrium between supply and

demand. Although scholars provide answers from the perspectives

ecological economy and marginal utility theory, the available amount of

supply and the complexity of access remain the fundamental factors in

determining the value of water. However, the recently increasing

complexity of the relationship between the suppliers and consumers of

water signifies that the issue are now to be addressed using multiple

perspectives from different scientific disciplines. (White, 2002).

Commercialization of water in Asia, as an example of such complexity,

has been in place for years due to the governments’ failure in

management of water resources and it was prompted by the wave of

economic liberalization in 1990s as well as the financial crisis in 1997

(Kanbur, 2007).

The ADB approved the new Water Policy in 2001 that considers

water as “socially vital economic good”, and this has led water sector

reforms encouraging private entrepreneurs to invest in IWRM in Asian

countries such as Indonesia, The Philippines, Sri Lanka and Nepal

(Corral, 2007). Although the privatization of water resources to

multinational companies has attracted the biggest attention so far, it is

not the only way that water is treated as an economic good. Having a

much longer history in Asia, bottled water is a cross-cutting issue

between the debates considering the commodification of nature and the

free movement of capital shaping the provision of public services. Jaffee

and Newman (2013) suggest that the expansion of bottled water changes

the prospects for piped water and that the growth of this relatively new

commodity creates a more serious effect in the long term than that

generated by piped water privatization. The business pattern seen in

bottled water sector is that multinational companies enter the water

market in developing countries by targeting upper/upper-middle class

consumers, while the remaining consumers are served by local vendors

and WRSs with unbranded bottled water (Gleick, 2004). Involvement of

private sector in water distribution in Jakarta can be considered as a

representative case as it provides an example of water sale in developing

countries, especially in South East Asia known with rapidly increasing

population rates. Although four different sources of water (ground water,

pipe water, branded bottled water and WRSs) are available for the use of

the consumers in Jakarta; the natural water resources (rivers, lakes and

groundwater) are neither abundant nor safe for drinking. The case of
WRSs is especially of importance in such cases where the majority of the

population depend on bottled water for at least a part of their drinking

water supply, rather than tap water that has been privately managed and

distributed (Jaffee & Newman, 2013).

Local Literature

In the Philippines water refilling stations and or bottled water has

established a major foothold to ensure safety of drinking water. In some

places, piped-water systems are lacking; and in other areas, people are

also uncertain about contaminants, disinfection by-products from the

chlorination process, taste and odor.

Even in Manila, the country’s capital only about three fourths of

the population receives piped water from the municipal authority.

Outside Manila far fewer people have access to clean water distribution.

In present times due to poor environmental conditions such as pollution

perhaps, every source of water supply is possibly contaminated. In order

to avoid cholera epidemics or other health problems spawned by the foul

these families should have alternative source of water the families in

these areas.
 To address the said water-related problems a solution has

appeared through thousands of water refilling stations that now do the

Philippine landscape. These shops began as privately-run community

sources, where consumers would bring containers and fill them for a per-

gallon fee that is a small fraction of commercially bottled water’s cost.

Demand is such that most stores now offer home delivery for regular

customers.

Most shops produce between 3,000 and 12,000 liters of water per

day. Typically, the supply comes from the pipes of municipal

concessionaires. Entrepreneurs invest in treatment equipment and

further purify their product before sale.

Other shops are likely supplied by unauthorized or illegal deep well

diggings. A proliferation of these private sources could have detrimental

effects on groundwater reserves and subject them to contamination.

The government has accepted private water shops as a necessary

weapon in the fight against waterborne disease and regulates their

quality control practices and final product as much as possible. However,

given the large number of shops, it is difficult to adequately monitor the

entire industry.

Though many in the Philippines benefit from the availability of

water shops, the system does not address the long-term water delivery

and sanitation infrastructure improvements necessary to provide reliable

water to all. More than 60% of households in Metro Manila that get their

drinking water from refilling stations may be at risk of waterborne

diseases. A study by the Pediatric Infectious Disease Society of the

Philippines shows that the risk of contamination is high for those who

get their supply from local refilling stations. There’s a great risk of

contamination during the improper handling of containers and poor

compliance with regulatory standards.

Another independent, informal survey found that 70% of water

refilling stations in two major cities in the Metro do not comply with the

stringent water safety guidelines outlined by the Department of Health. A

total 441 of the 630 surveyed licensed refilling stations did not fully meet

the requirements of DOH Administrative Order 2007-012 or the

Philippine National Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW). The problem

is not in the purified water, but how your container is received, washed,

delivered, and handled by you and/or the refilling station’s staff.

Most violations are about a refilling station’s operations—how they

handle your containers. All too often, contamination can happen anytime

from dropping off your container to having it delivered to your home. As

required by law, all water refilling stations must abide with the following:
 1. Prescribed Standards and Procedures

Water refilling stations are required to follow the prescribed

standards and procedures in Chapter II of the Implementing Rules and

Regulations of the Sanitation Code of the Philippines, as outlined in

Presidential Decree 856. Among other things, it requires all water

refilling stations to be located at least 25 meters away from any source of

pollution. The station should also not be in an area prone to flooding.

Proprietors are also required to have samples tested by a DOH-accredited

laboratory to ensure these follow the standards outlined in the PNSDW.

2. Permits

Refilling stations need several permits to operate, arguably the

most important of which is the Sanitary Permit. To get this, they need to

obtain a satisfactory rating from the local health office. They’ll need to

score 50 points out of a possible 100 in a 20-item checklist of DOH

standards. It’s interesting to note, however, that output water testing

positive for bacteria or failure to properly clean water containers only

merit a 5-point deduction. That means they still have a good chance of

passing the sanitary inspection even if their water tested positive for

bacteria. Permits should be posted in prominent areas where consumers

can easily see and inspect it.

 3. Container Handling

The DOH also has certain rules for handling, refilling, and

delivering containers. The containers need to be properly cleaned and

sanitized using DOH-approved sanitizing solutions to get rid of germs

and other microbes. Water and dishwashing soap are not enough to

sanitize the containers, at least based on DOH standards.

4. Station Operations

The Health Department requires all personnel handling water

refilling tasks to wear protective gear, and not just casual wear, or worse,

sando and shorts. The staff at your local refilling station should be

wearing face masks, gloves, and scrub suits to prevent contamination.

5. Storage and Delivery

One of the more common violations, your container should not be

delivered in open-air bikes or vehicles. The refilled water should be

delivered using sanitized transports that keep the water temperature at

around 25-28° C (room temperature). The delivery vehicle should not

expose the containers to dust, heat, pollution, and direct sunlight.

6. Bottled Water
 Many water refilling stations sell water in pre-packaged, often

small bottles. This, however, is not allowed, per the Food and Drug

Administration (FDA). Water refilling stations are only allowed to refill,

not sell pre-packaged, bottled water. Though a bit lacking in scope, an

amendment to the DOH Administrative Order 18-A series of 1993

prohibits refilling stations to sell, supply, or distribute bottled water in

pre-packaged containers with certain claims (e.g., mineral, natural,

spring, well water, etc).

Drinking for Safety

As a safety precaution, it would be best to get your drinking water

only from licensed and well-maintained refilling stations that fully and

consistently comply with all regulatory standards. Water purifiers are

also a great safeguard against unsafe, contaminated water. Its advanced

water purification system cleans water right before you drink it,

eliminating risks from manual handling and improper transport of water

containers. Some uses germ kill technology that gets rid of harmful

microbes, metals, and other impurities, meeting the benchmarks of the

US Environmental Protection Agency for microbiological safety.

 Water is very essential for our daily life routine. People need to

drink water in order to live. However, because of human introduction,

directly or indirectly, of substances into the marine environment, our

waters become polluted and undrinkable. Because of the high demand

for cleaner water, starting a water refilling station business becomes one

of the most promising and profitable business today.

At present, about 3,000 water refilling stations have proliferated

nationwide. They sell purified water of comparable quality with bottled

water at a lower price. For example, the current price per gallon of

refilled purified water in Metro Manila ranges from P 50 to P 120 per 5-

gallon container or about P 2.50 to P 6.00 per liter while the bottled

water is sold at P 12.00 to P 25.00 per liter. Household filters, on the

other hand, cost P 5,000 to P 25,000 per unit ( 1 US $ = P 56 in 2004).

In Metro Manila, most of the water refilling stations are connected

to the pipes of two concessionaires: Maynilad Water Company or Manila

Water Company for their source of raw water while in other areas they

opt to use private deep wells. The “potable water” supplied by the

providers is then further purified by utilizing a combination of water

treatment equipment, such as sediment filters, carbon filters, water

softeners, reverse osmosis membranes, ultra-violet lamps, and ozone

generators. Typical water refilling stations can produce 3,000 to 12,000

litres of purified water per day. In previous years, most of the people were

bringing a container to a water refilling station to buy purified water.

Nowadays, because of convenience on the part of the consumers,

purified water in 5-gallon (22.7 liters) containers are delivered by the

station directly to the people’s home. Aqua Sure, a water refilling station

in Metro Manila, can deliver 5,500 gallons (25,000 litres) a day to its

8,000 household clients.

Institutions and policies

The agencies directly involved in the establishment operation of

water refilling stations are as follows:

1. The Department of Health (DOH). DOH is the main agency

responsible for protecting the health of the people. The Sanitation

Code of the Philippines mandates DOH in protecting drinking

water quality. Consequently, DOH issues implementing rules and

regulations prescribing sanitary standards for water supply

systems, including water refilling stations.

2. The Center for Health Development (CHD) is the regional branch

of DOH. Its main function is to provide technical assistance to local

government units and to monitor DOH programmed

implementation which includes water quality and sanitation

standards. For water refilling stations, CHD is mandated to issue

initial and operational permits.

3. The Local Government Units (LGUs) are mandated by

Presidential Decree (PD 856) to issue sanitary permit, sanitary

clearance, health certificates, certificate of portability, drinking

water site clearance and closure order (if necessary) and to

conduct sanitary inspection of WRS.

4. The Water Quality Association of the Philippines Inc. (WQAP) is

an organization of private firms who are engaged in the

manufacture, sale, and distribution of water refilling station

equipment and supplies, as well as water treatment and

purification equipment and technology for household, institutional,

commercial and industrial applications. About 85 percent of its

250 members operates water refilling stations.

5. Association of Water Refilling Entrepreneurs (AWARE)

concentrates on resolving business management issues of its

members.
 Presidential Decree No. 856 (PD 856) or the Sanitation Code of the

Philippines is the main law requiring all establishments to comply with

existing sanitary standards to protect public health. Guidelines for

operating a water refilling station are indicated in the Supplemental

Implementing Rules and Regulations on Water Supply of PD 856 issued

in 1999.

Water quality monitoring

Source water and product water are subject to regular monitoring

by the local health office. The national standards for drinking water

contains 54 parameters that must be complied with. Only DOH-

accredited laboratories are allowed to conduct water testing and analysis.

The frequency of monitoring is as follows:

Bacteriological quality – at least monthly

Physical quality – at least every six (6) months

Chemical quality – at least every six (6) months

Biological quality – at least once a year

Monitoring of radioactive contaminants shall be done only if there is

significant input of radiation from the surrounding environment. (

350291519-Water-Refilling-Station-Study )
 CHAPTER III

METHOD AND PROCEDURES

This chapter discusses the research design, sources of data,

instrumentation, tools for data analysis and data categorization.

Research Design

The design is a descriptive research which investigates processes,

maintenance and quality with a particular focus on the operation

employed by the respondents of the subject. According to Calderon

(2008), as cited by Alberto et al (2011), descriptive method is also known

as statistical research, it describes data and characteristics about the

population or phenomenon being studied. This research method is used

for frequencies, averages and other statistical calculations. The methods

to be used in gathering data are questionnaire, interview, and

observation. Results of descriptive researches may come in the form of a

new knowledge, a new generalization, an increased insight into factors

which are operating, as well as a more accurate formulation of the

problem to be solved which are valuable because these provide facts on

which scientific judgments maybe based and may provide essential

knowledge about the nature of objects and persons.

 This design is used in the study because it thought to assess the

operational performance of purified water refilling stations in San

Fernando City, La Union. Such method is best suited for this study since

the researchers intend to assess the operational performance of purified

water refilling stations in San Fernando City, La Union. The

questionnaire answers of the respondents, owner/manager and staff, will

be used in weighted mean.

Sources of Data

Locale, Population and Duration of the Study

The respondents in the study are the owners and staff of each

Water Refilling Stations and it will be conducted around San Fernando,

La union.

In preparing the questionnaire, the researcher reviewed and

studied the Presidential Decree No. 856 known as "Code on Sanitation of

the Philippines" and Administrative Order 2007-012 or Philippine

National Standards for Drinking Water prescribed by DOH. The said code

is one of the tools where owners and staff must comply on it and the

same is being currently complied. From the review, the researcher

constructed the said questionnaire with the purpose of assessing the

operational performance of purified water refilling stations with the set

standards.
 Moreover, to evaluate the operational performance of the water

refilling stations, another questionnaire checklist will be used to

determine the comprehensiveness, relevance and adaptability. Prior to

the usage of the questionnaire, the respondents must answer it honestly.

Results will be analyzed.

The researcher will give a brief orientation to the respondent on

how to answer the questionnaire. Each owner and staff will be given a

complete copy of the said material. They will be given clear direction on

the topic to be tackled for the day. The researcher will be supervised the

owner and staff while they are reading the material until they will be

finished. Whenever questions are raised, the researcher would instruct

the owner and staff to write a specific page to answer their queries. After,

the respondents gather the questionnaire for the assessing of the

operational performance of the water refilling stations. Results will be

analyzed.

Instrumentation and Data Collection

It is through questionnaires and interviews to the owner and staff

of the purified water refilling stations.

 The tools are to be personally distributed by the researchers to the

respondents. Interview, observation and sets of questions are formulated

using a checklist in producing the needed data.

To assess the operational performance of the respondents, a

questionnaire will be used. It is administered to the owner and staff. The

question is assessed as highly reliable. This proved that the researchers-

questionnaire was stable, self-consistent and dependable.

Likewise, the checklists of the Department of Health are to be

adopted and to be used in assessing the operational performance of the

water refilling stations. Since the said tools are to be adopted, these are

assumed reliable and valid.

The questions made which is to be used as questionnaire was

constructed by the researchers and it is to be checked by their adviser.

The researcher’s questionnaire composed of questions in station

operations and is administered to the respondents to gather data

needed for the assessment of the stations and to determine the

performance of water refilling stations.

Validity of the Questionnaire

The questionnaire is made based on the water safety guidelines

outlined by the Department of Health and the Philippine National

Standards for Drinking Water (PNSDW).

Tools for Data Analysis

The data gathered are to be classified, tallied and tabulated

accordingly using the weighted mean. Responses are scored and

categorized using the following range of scales, ranges and descriptive

equivalents.

The following are the various statistical limits to quantify the data

needed in this study. The operational performance of water refilling

stations is to be measured and interpreted using the following numerical

values:

Scores Descriptive Equivalent Rating (DER)

9.00-10 Very Highly Performance

7.00-8.99 Highly Performance

5.00-6.99 Moderately Performance

3.00-4.99 Fairly Performance

1.00-2.99 Poorly Performance

 The compliance of permits is to be measured and to be

interpreted using the following numerical values:

Numerical Values Range Values Descriptive Equivalent Rating

5 4.21 – 5.00 Very Much Comply

4 3.41 – 4.20 Very Comply

3 2.61 – 3.40 Moderately Comply

2 1.81 – 2.60 Fairly Comply

1 1.00 – 1.80 Not Comply

Furthermore, to determine the assessment of the operational

performance of purified water refilling stations, the respondents’ answers

in their questionnaire are to be computed using Microsoft Excel Data

Analysis 2013.

The Output

The output of the study is the proposed strategic plan requiring

each water refilling stations in San Fernando City, La Union to submit a

monthly water analysis to ensure the safety of their products. The results

and findings of this study were used to propose a plan that the stations

can use to avoid contamination of their products and to avoid health

diseases and to promote having efficient supply of potable water not only

in our area but also in other parts of the country.

Ethical Considerations

To institute and safeguard ethics in conducting this study, the

researcher strictly observed the following:

The respondents who participated in the evaluation are free from

coercion. It means that the participants are free to withdraw their

participation at any time without negatively impacting on their

involvement in future services. The researchers will ask the respondents

approval and will not force any individual to answer the questionnaires.

The researchers only assessed information that is relevance to the study

being conducted.