Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Quality of Household Drinking Water from Source to Point of Use in Akewu Community in Ibadan, Oyo State, Southwest, Nigeria

Abstract

Poor household water storage is one of the major factors contributing to contamination of drinking water in Nigeria. Studies have shown that sizes of containers opening can affect water quality, but little has been documented on comparative effect of storage containers with different opening sizes in improving drinking water quality in Ibadan. This study was designed to assess the effect of different storage containers on household drinking water quality in selected communities in Ibadan. A quasi-experimental design was adopted. Four communities in Ibadan North Local Government namely; Akewu using protected springs as household drinking water sources were purposively selected. Forty-four households (11 from each community) were selected and randomly assigned to four treatment groups; those with Covered Buckets with Taps (CBT), Covered Buckets without Tap (CB), Covered Kegs with Taps (CKT) and Covered Kegs without Tap (CK). Prior to introducing the treatment containers, water samples were collected from their Regular Storage Containers (RSC) and springs for physicochemical and bacteriological analysis using standard methods. Participants were thereafter encouraged to store drinking water in the treatment containers provided for them. Water samples were later collected from CBT, CB, CKT and CK containers twice daily for 3 alternate days over two weeks for bacteriological analysis. In addition, oldest female of selected households were interviewed using a pre-tested semi-structured questionnaire to elicit information on their socio-demographic characteristics, storage container cleaning and handwashing practices. Results of physicochemical and bacteriological findings were compared with Standard Organisation of Nigeria (SON) guidelines. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, t- test and ANOVA at p=0.05. At baseline, mean pH values of water samples from the springs and RSC were 6.4±0.6 and 7.1±0.7 respectively compared with 6.5-8.5 limits recommended by SON. Mean chloride concentration of springs (14.3±7.4mg/l) and RSC (19.3±10.0 mg/l) samples were below 250mg/l limit recommended by SON. Mean Total Coliform Count (TCC) of the springs in the four communities was 18.0±4.0 and mean TCC of RSC was 12.7±4.9 which exceeded the SON standard of 10MPN/100ml. Five percent of water samples from RSC had mean E.coli count of 100/100ml compared with SON guidelines of 0/100ml. The mean TCC after introducing CB, CBT, CK and CKT in all the communities were 10.0±4.0, 8.5±4.2, 6.9±2.8 and 7.3±3.7 respectively (p<0.05). No E.coli was found in the samples collected from the treatment storage containers. The percentage difference of coliform count in water from springs and RSC was 29.4% while percentage difference from RSC and CB, CBT, CK and CKT were 21.5%, 33.2%, 45.5% and 42.5% respectively. Mean age of the 44 respondents interviewed was 37.9±10.7years. Seventy-three percent washed their hands with only water after defecation and 95.0% stored water for cooking and drinking in the same container. Sixty-eight percent cleaned their containers weekly while 32.0% cleaned twice weekly.