Investigation of water hardness, heavy metals and total coliform bacterial in water coolers at various location in Uitm Shah Alam / Nur Raihan Abd. Rahman

The aim of this study was to investigate the presence of heavy metals and bacteria (Total
Coliform) and also to determine the water hardness in water from water cooler devices at
different location in UiTM Shah Alam. The water sample was analyzed in the lab to investigate
the water hardness, concentration of heavy metals and the presence of bacteria that contains in
the water. ICP-OES was used to determine the concentration of heavy metals, water hardness
was obtained using IC and membrane filtration method was used to determine the presence of
total coliform in the water sample. Results showed the water was considered soft based on the
concentration of CaCO3 is between 0-60 mg/l. Meanwhile, the presence of heavy metals was not
detected and the total coliform is too small. So, it can be concluded that the water was safe to use
for drinking.