Bacteriological Assessment of Well and River Water in Ife Town, Osun State, Nigeria

Abstract

In most communities, water is consumed without potability and the major sources of water apart from rainfall are surface such as river water, in some cases, borehole water can be applicable. Water samples from river and well water from different communities in Ife town were randomly collected and bacteriological analysis was carried out on them using standard microbiological methods. The results showed that the least microbial loads value of 0.78 × 10³cfu/ml was obtained from river water while well water had the highest microbial load with a count of 1.12 × 10³ cfu/ml. Well water, however, had the highest total coliform (460 MPN/100mL) and lowest coliform count from river with (39MPN/100mL). The isolates identificatied includes, Alcaligens spp, Yesinia enterocolitica, Lactobacillus spp, Salmonella spp, Enterobacter spp, Streptococcus spp and Escherichia coli. Most of these bacteria are gram negative rod and are usually associated with gastrointestinal illness. Proper treatment and surveillance of these water sources should therefore be carried out regularly to prevent public health issues that could be implicated from such unwholesome practice of drinking non-potable water.