Bacteriological Quality Assessment of Borehole Water in Ogbaru Communities, Anambra State, Nigeria

Abstract

Ogbaru Communities are usually submerged by intense flood during the rainy season, but such flood recedes during the dry season. This natural occurrence makes the quality of the borehole water in the area questionable. The total bacterial, total coliform, faecal coliform and Vibrio cholerae counts of samples from fifteen boreholes in the communities were determined during both seasons using standard analytical methods. The values were 100-270 cfu/100ml;10-42cfu/100ml;0-28 cfu/100ml and 0-13cfu/100ml for total bacterial, total coliform, faecal coliform and Vibrio cholerae counts respectively during the dry season and 130-450 cfu/100ml; 25-86 cfu/100ml; 0-75 cfu/100ml and 0-18 cfu/100ml for the total bacterial, total coliform, faecal coliform and Vibrio cholerae counts respectively during the rainy season. Salmonella typhi (53.3%), Enterobacter aerogenes (53.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (46.7%), Proteus vulgaris (46.7%), klebsiella variicola (26.7%), Escherichia coli (26.7%), Staphylococcus aureus (13.3%) and Vibrio cholerae (33.3%) were isolated during the dry season while S. typhi (60.0%), E. aerogenes (60.0%), P. aeruginosa (53.3%), P. vulgaris (46.7%). K. variicola (33.3%), E. coli (26.7%), S. aureus (13.3%), V. cholerae (46.7%) and Providencia sneebia (6.7%) were recovered during the rainy season. S. typhi occurred most frequently during both seasons. Total bacterial, total coliform and Vibrio cholerae counts were significant at 5% significance level using t-distribution. The boreholes analysed were polluted by bacteria and need adequate treatment such as sand filtration, chlorination and boiling before drinking to avert a public health hazard.