Physicochemical assessment and bacteriological studies of hand-dug wells of major markets in south western, Nigeria

Abstract

Rapid population in developing nations has imposed stress on groundwater resources, thus the need to assess physicochemical and bacteriological impact of microbes on hand-dug wells along some major markets in Ibadan Southwestern Nigeria. Water samples from hand-dug wells were measured sequentially, and total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, and temperature were measured in situ. Water samples were analyzed at a Microbiology Laboratory. Most probable techniques used for micro-organism analysis were in three stages: presumptive test used for confirmation of Escherichia coli, confirmed test for total viable bacteria count (TVBC), and complete test to reconfirm the presence of coliform. Presumptive test showed high rate of E. coli in most of the hand-dug wells with (37.5 %). Confirmed test revealed Staphylococcus aureus to be 25 %, followed by Proteus vulgaris (14.6 %), Bacillus species (12.5 %), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (8.3 %), and Klebsiella spp. (2.1 %) respectively. Total viable bacteria counts are 500 to 192,000. Physicochemical results (total dissolved solute (TDS), pH, electrical conductivity (EC), salinity, temperature) when compared with WHO (2006) and SON (2007) revealed all the parameters to be within the permissible limits except pH (5.8 to 9.56), and high values of the parameters were caused by organic matter. High E. coli in the study area revealed influence of human and animal fecal that could lead to urinary tract infection; Staphylococcus aureus that comes from sewage could lead to diarrhea, gastrointestinal disease, and multiplication in tissues. High value of pH and E. coli above the permissible limits showed contamination of hand-dug wells in the study area.