Abstract
In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods. Compared parameters include: physicochemical constituents; Temperature (T), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Hardness (TH), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), Magnesium ion (Mg2+) and Calcium ion (Ca2+) and microbiological parameters included Total Coliform Counts (TC), Faecal Coliform Counts (FC), Fungal Counts (Fung C), Heterotrophic Plate Counts (HPC).Comparing Stored and Source samples, the mean values of some physicochemical parameters of most of the stored water samples significantly (p < 0.05) exceeded that of Sources and ranged in the following order: T (15.3 ± 0.3 °C–28.3 ± 0.5 °C), pH (6.4 ± 0.1–7.6 ± 0.1), TDS (192.1 ± 11.1 ppm–473.7 ± 27.9 ppm), TH (10.6 ± 1.7 mg/L–248.6 ± 18.6 mg/L), BOD (0.5 ± 0.0 mg/L–3.2 ± 0.3 mg/L), Mg2+ (6.5 ± 2.4 mg/L–29.1 ± 3.2 mg/L) and Ca2+ (6.5 ± 2.4 mg/L–51.6 ± 4.4 mg/L). The mean microbial counts obtained from microbial comparison of different points (Stored and Source) of collection showed that most of the stored water had counts significantly exceeding (p < 0.05) those of the source water samples (cfu/100 mL) which ranged as follows: TC (3.1 ± 1.5–156.8 ± 42.9), FC (0.0 ± 0.0–64.3 ± 14.2) and HPC (47.8 ± 12.1–266.1 ± 12.2) across all sampled communities. Also, the predominant isolates recovered from the samples were identified as Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumonia, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Enterobacter aerogenes, Aspergillus spp., Mucor spp., Rhizopus spp. and Candida spp. The presence of these pathogenic and potentially pathogenic organisms in the waters and the high counts of the indicator organisms suggest the waters to be a threat to public health.
Highlights
Increase in development has brought about continuous scarcity of water resources in many parts of the world [1]
In this study, we evaluated the physicochemical and microbial qualities of source and stored household waters in some communities in Southwestern Nigeria using standard methods
In Osun state, the mean values of the stored water were higher than the source in all these parameters: pH, temperature, dissolved oxygen (DO), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD), total hardness except turbidity and Total Dissolved Solids (TDS)
Summary
Increase in development has brought about continuous scarcity of water resources in many parts of the world [1]. In Nigeria, access to safe water and sanitation is a major challenge, 53% of the populace in rural and 28% in urban areas have no access to improved water sources [2]. Water Aids Nigeria reported that around 57 million Nigerians lack access to safe potable water while over 130 million people (two thirds of the population) do not have access to adequate sanitation [3]. Water pollution is a main global problem, a leading cause of death and diseases which calls for evaluation and revision of water resources at all levels [5]. The specific contaminants leading to pollution in water include a wide spectrum of chemical, pathogens, physical or sensory changes such as elevated temperature and discoloration [6,7]. The pathogens include Salmonella species, Escherichia coli, parasitic worm, virus (hepatitis A), helminthes such as guinea worm [8,9]
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