ABSTRACT
Potable water can be defined as water that contains neither pathogenic microorganisms nor hazardous chemicals. Before water can be deemed safe and clean, it has to be analyzed using certain microbiological, physical and chemical standards which have been set in place to ensure that water is drinkable. The aim of this research is to determine the physicochemical parameters and bacteriological analyses of borehole water used in eateries in Ovia North-east Local Government Area, Benin City, Edo state, Nigeria. A total of twenty (20) samples were collected for this study. Bacterial enumeration was done using the membrane filtration technique. . Total heterotrophic count was done on nutrient agar, while coliform count was done on MacConkey agar. Identification and characterisation was done following standard cultural, morphological, and biochemical tests. The antibiotic susceptibility test was done using Kirby-Bauer’s disc diffusion method. The total heterotrophic and coliform count of the bacterial isolates. The heterotrophic count of the samples ranged from 0.501.53 X 103 cfu/100ml – 3.001.53 X 103 cfu/100ml. While the coliform count ranged from 0.301.00 X 103 cfu/100ml – 2.501.53 X 103 cfu/100ml. A total of nine (09) different bacterial species were isolated from the samples. They are Bacillus cereus, Bacillus subtilis, Chromobacterium violaceum, Citrobacter feundii, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Serratia marcenscens, Staphylococcus aureus and Staphylococcus epidermidis. With Klebsiella pneumoniae being the most dominant species, with a frequency of 65.00%. . B. cereus, C. freundii, P. aeruginosa, and S. marcenscens showed 100.00% resistance to amoxacilin, while S. aureus and C. violaceum showed 80.00% resistance. It was observed that all isolates of Bacillus cereus and Staphylococcus epidermidis produced haemolysin. As water losses its purity, it becomes a means for the transmission of various infections, as it becomes polluted and contaminated by both the environment and microorganisms. Thus water, especially drinking water, needs to be purified before use.
