Abstract
This study focused to determine the bacteriological quality of different commonly used water sources, including boreholes, hand pumps, surface water, household containers, dug well and cement reservoirs in Pelengana commune, in Mali with special reference to the internally displaced people camps. Four hundred and eight water samples were collected from different sites and sources, from July 2016 to June 2017. Water samples were examined for total coliform, fecal coliform and fecal enterococci counts using the most probable number method. Also, samples were investigated for the presence of enteric bacteria isolated, namely Escherichia coli, Enterococcus fecalis, Bacillus, Citrobacter and Enterobacter. Results revealed that the three indicators bacteria (Total Coliform (48.7%), Fecal Coliform (100%), and Fecal enterococci (37.01%)) were found above permissible limit for drinking water. The highest number of the indicators bacteria found was 1800 TC/100ml water. Enteric bacteria isolated were Escherichia coli (25.7%), Enterococcus fecalis (21.91%), Bacillus (16.72%), Enterobacter (4.56%) and Citrobacter (3.91%). The most contaminated water source was surface water (15.28%) followed by household containers (13.65%), boreholes (8.75%), cement reservoirs (7.47%), hand pumps (5.31%) and dug wells (2.7%). These findings illustrate that contamination varied with seasons, and the highest level was observed in rainy season (30.02%) compared to the dry season (23.14%). All sources of water in the study sites were contaminated. It is suggested that the outright prevention of surface water consumption should be employed and monitoring of the quality of water resources is needed.
Highlights
The microbiological quality of drinking water has brought about great preoccupation to mankind because of implied public health repercussions
It is suggested that the outright prevention of surface water consumption should be employed and monitoring of the quality of water resources is needed
100% of total coliforms have expressed fecal coliforms count above the norm (0 fecal coliforms/100ml) for drinking water
Summary
The microbiological quality of drinking water has brought about great preoccupation to mankind because of implied public health repercussions. Bad quality of drinking water, poor sanitation and hygiene have been pointed out among the 20 top risk factors for health burden in developing countries [1]. The supply of drinking water of sufficient quality and quantity remains a crucial public health need in most African countries, including Mali, where diarrhoeal diseases continue to cause high mortality [3]. According to the World Health Organization (WHO), about 1.1 billion human beings lack good quality water and 2.4 billion do not have access to adequate sanitation. The water for human consumption must not contain organisms and chemical substances in concentrations sufficiently high to affect health [5]
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