Skip to content
Research Article Open access CC BY 4.0

A Comparative Assessment of the Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of Some Drinking Water Sources in Diobu, Portharcourt, Nigeria

Fubara Alex, Kpormon L. B.

South Asian Journal of Research in Microbiology · pp. 17–24 · Published 9 Dec 2023

10.9734/sajrm/2023/v17i3329

Abstract

Diseases caused as a results of drinking contaminated water pose a severe risk to the public's health. In the current study, various drinking water sources in Diobu, Port Harcourt, were evaluated and their microbiological and physicochemical characteristics were compared. Drinking water samples were collected from a borehole and a sachet (packaged) source. Physicochemical and bacteriological investigations were conducted using standard analytical techniques. The results of physiochemical parameters revealed that sachet water samples had higher pH values than borehole water. The borehole water samples had a mean pH of 4.37±1.21 which was much lower than the W.H.O.- recommended range (6.5-8.5). The study’s Total Suspended Solids readings were within the permissible limits of 30.0 mg/l. The borehole samples had the highest concentration of 6.5±4.31mg/l, while the sachet water samples had the lowest concentration of 2.5±1.5 mg/l. Total Dissolved Solids ranged between 15.8±13.5mg/l in sachet water and 55.6±33.4 mg/l in samples from boreholes. The Electrical Conductivity values were recorded as 33.5±28.4 µScm-1 in sachet water and 136.6±73.9 µScm-1 in borehole water. The mean total alkalinity value in sachet water was 0.57±0.29 mg/l whereas in borehole water, it was 3.29±1.39 mg/l. For sachet water and borehole water, the levels of water hardness ranged from 1.95±0.84 mg/l to 10.67±3.21 mg/l, respectively. The range of biological oxygen demand was < 1±0.00 (for sachet water) to 2.13±13 (for borehole water). Dissolved oxygen levels ranged from 1.72±0.70 mg/l in sachet water to 1.95±0.62 mg/l in borehole water. Chemical oxygen demand levels ranged from 2.38±1.18mg/l (Sachet water) to 11.31±9.49 (Borehole water) while Turbidity ranged from <1±0.00 NTU (Sachet water) to 1.1±0.64 NTU (Borehole water). Except for Chemical Oxygen Demand, there was no difference in the values that were observed that was significant at P≥ 0.05 in this study. The mean total bacterial counts ranged from 2.0 x 104 CFU/ml in sachet water to 9.0 x104 CFU/ml in borehole water, demonstrating high levels of contamination in the borehole water from human contamination. Comparatively to the other water sources, sachet water had the lowest overall bacterial and coliform levels. However, because the bacteriological values for total coliform counts was above the WHO threshold of zero per 100 ml, they did not comply with international standards. Salmonella spp., Pseudomonas spp., Staphylococcus spp., and Escherichia coli were the pathogenic bacteria of public health significance that were isolated from the diverse water samples. Five distinct isolates of fungi, including Penicillium spp., Aspergillus niger, Aspergillus flavus, Trichoderma spp., and Mucor spp., were found. In comparison to borehole water, which had the most bacterial pollutants, sachet water tests had the fewest. It is advised that the water sources be treated before being used for any domestic purposes as the water sources in this research area are not suitable for human consumption.

Drinking water bacteriological physico-chemistry comparative assessment

References (19)

  1. 1 Standard methods: For the examination of water and waste water [DOI]
  2. 2 [World health statistics report].
  3. 3 Groundwater Quality in the Lower Varuna River Basin, Varanasi District, Uttar Pradesh [DOI]
  4. 4 STUDIES ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PARAMETERS TO ASSESS THE WATER QUALITY OF RIVER GANGA FOR DRINKING PURPOSE IN HARIDWAR DISTRICT
  5. 5 Quality assessment of various bottled waters marketed in Lebanon [DOI]
  6. 6 Bacteriological analysis of borehole water in Uli, Nigeria [DOI]
  7. 7 Microbiological assessment of well waters in Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna, State, Nigeria [DOI]
  8. 8 Physico-Chemical Analysis of Drinking Water Quality of Arbaminch Town [DOI]
  9. 9 Study of the bacterial flora of a non‐carbonated natural mineral water [DOI]
  10. 10 Comparative Analysis of Public and Private Borehole Water Supply Sources in Uruan Local Government Area of Akwa Ibom State
  11. 11 Bacteriological and Physical Quality of Locally Packaged Drinking Water in Kampala, Uganda [DOI]
  12. 12 Spatial Variation of Borehole Water Quality with Depth in Uyo Municipality, Nigeria [DOI]
  13. 13 Determination of Some Physicochemical Parameters and Some Heavy Metals in Boreholes from Fagge L.G.A of Kano Metropholis Kano State- Nigeria [DOI]
  14. 14 Bacteriological Contamination of Well Water in Makurdi Town, Benue State, Nigeria [DOI]
  15. 15 Physicochemical and Bacteriological Analysis of Water Samples Used For Domestic Purposes in Idi Ayunre, Oyo State, Southwestern Nigeria.
  16. 16 Physicochemical and microbial analysis of water from Mimyak River in Kanke LGA of Plateau state, Nigeria
  17. 17 Bacterial analysis of barbecued meat (Suya) from selected locations within Abuja, Nigeria [DOI]
  18. 18 Physico-chemical and Microbiological Characteristics of a River Mud as substrate for Biological Generation of Electricity in the Niger Delta, Nigeria [DOI]
  19. 19 Public water supplies of the 100 largest cities of the United States, 1962 [DOI]

Cited by 2

Comparative Quality Assessment of Water Samples from Protected Well and Unprotected Well in Ayobo Area of Lagos State, Nigeria

A. Adewale, Helen Ali, Taiwo Bakare-Abidola · Path of Science · 2025

Assessment of health hazards of selected heavy metals in surface water from contaminated river in Aleto Eleme, Southern Nigeria

Stephen Ive Akpotayire, S. Okoro, D. Peters · GSC Advanced Research and Reviews · 2025

Related research

Article metrics

Real usage data collected on this platform.

34

Page views

0

PDF downloads

16

Outbound clicks

2

Citations

Views over time

Views by country

Approximate, from request IP at view time — not citizenship or institution. Countries with fewer than 5 views are grouped as "Other".

Traffic sources

Referring site, by host.

Views and downloads exclude known bots/crawlers. Citations combines this platform's own DOI-resolved index with each external source's own reported total — see Cited by above for individually listed citing works. Last refreshed 0 seconds ago.