How Do Producers' Perception and Behaviours Affect the Physical Water Quality of Refilled Water in Urban Bandung, Indonesia?

In Indonesia, water refill stations expanded as private entrepreneurs sought to provide drinking water while making a profit. Refilling stations must guarantee that the drinking water meets quality and sanitation hygiene requirements. This paper attempts to link the perceptions and behaviours of refilled water vendors with the physical quality of the water they sell. The study is focused on 66 refill stations in urban Bandung, Indonesia. We measured total dissolved solids (TDS) as a proxy of the physical quality of refill water (Y). We also assessed the producers' perceptions (X1) and behaviours (X2) using questionnaires and a sanitary checklist. To determine the correlation of X1 and X2 with Y, a Rank Spearman analysis was conducted using SPSS IBM© ver.26. The results show that there is a significant relationship and negative correlation between the respondent's behaviours and the physical quality of the refill drinking water it produces (p = 0.010; r = -0.314). Targeted education on refill water station owners will be beneficial in maintaining and improving their perceptions of the good practices of drinking water production, which will enhance the quality of water produced to safeguard public health. Keywords: behaviours, drinking water, perceptions, physical water quality, refill stations