Abstract
Surface water has been a source of domestic water due to shortage of potable water in most rural areas. This study was carried out to evaluate the level of contamination of Mvudi River in South Africa by measuring turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC), pH, concentrations of nitrate, fluoride, chloride, and sulphate. E. coli and Enterococci were analysed using membrane filtration technique. Average pH, EC and Turbidity values were in the range of 7.2–7.7, 10.5–16.1 mS/m and 1.3–437.5 NTU, respectively. The mean concentrations of fluoride, chloride, nitrate and sulphate for both the wet and the dry seasons were 0.11 mg/L and 0.27 mg/L, 9.35 mg/L and 14.82 mg/L, 3.25 mg/L and 6.87 mg/L, 3.24 mg/L and 0.70 mg/L, respectively. E. coli and Enterococci counts for both the wet and the dry seasons were 4.81 × 103 (log = 3.68) and 5.22 × 103 (log = 3.72), 3.4 × 103 (log = 3.53) and 1.22 × 103 (log = 3.09), per 100 mL of water, respectively. The count of E. coli for both seasons did not vary significantly (p > 0.05) but Enterococci count varied significantly (p < 0.001). All the physico-chemical parameters obtained were within the recommended guidelines of the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry of South Africa and the World Health Organization for domestic and recreational water use for both seasons except turbidity and nitrates. The microbiological parameters exceeded the established guidelines. Mvudi River is contaminated with faecal organisms and should not be used for domestic purposes without proper treatment so as to mitigate the threat it poses to public health.
Highlights
Water is necessary for healthy living and must be available to consumers in sufficient quantity and at high quality [1]
Population growth coupled with increased industrialisation, livestock farming and urbanisation have led to frequent contamination of river systems. This is further exacerbated by the lack of adequate sanitation facilities in rural areas resulting in faecal contamination of surface water with its attendant negative effects on human health and the environment [8,9]
The average pH values of the dry season (April June) (7.5) was slightly higher than that obtained for the wet season (January March) (7.4) and fell within the recommended limit of 6–9 set by the Department of Water Affairs and Forestry of South
Summary
Water is necessary for healthy living and must be available to consumers in sufficient quantity and at high quality [1]. In developing countries of the world, most rural communities depend on water from wells, ponds, springs and rivers for their domestic needs [2,3]. This is largely due to either the lack of access to or inability to afford the price of potable water [4]. Population growth coupled with increased industrialisation, livestock farming and urbanisation have led to frequent contamination of river systems This is further exacerbated by the lack of adequate sanitation facilities in rural areas resulting in faecal contamination of surface water with its attendant negative effects on human health and the environment [8,9]. This study was carried out to assess the physico-chemical and microbiological quality of Mvudi River, which is used by residents surrounding it for domestic, recreational and agricultural purposes
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