Assessment of Water Quality from Shallow Hand-Dug Wells in Dutse Town, North West Nigeria

Abstract

The inhabitants of Dutse depend predominantly on shallow hand dug wells for domestic water supply but these are susceptible to contamination from various sources due to the unprotected nature of this water source, the geology of the area, and anthropogenic activities. The focus of this paper is to assess the physicochemical and test for coliform of the shallow hand-dug wells in Dutse and compare it to the threshold of WHO and the Nigerian Administration Food and Drugs Agency (NAFDAC). Forty-four shallow unprotected public hand-dug wells were purposively selected and sampled across the town. The physical parameters of pH and Electrical Conductivity were measured using a pH meter and electric conductivity meter on site having mean values of 8.74 and 646.37 mg/L indicating that 90 % of the samples exceeded the set standard limits. The chemical analysis was carried out using Flame photometry, Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometry and Ultra Violet Spectrophotometry methods. The heavy metals Cu, Fe, Mn and Cr have average values of 1.43, 0.11, 3.31 and 0.076 mg/L respectively which complied with the limits. The test for coliform was carried out using the coliform counter and all the samples show positive results for the bacteriological analysis the water should be treated before use.