PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF BOREHOLE WATER

ABSTRACT

Water is a natural resource that is renewable and can be recycled by nature. The establishment of a stable community requires the presence of a safe and reliable sources of water. Unsafe water has been identified as a global challenge and it is associated with diseases as well as intoxication. Pollution from both natural and anthropogenic sources have made water unfit for it designated use. This study therefore evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological analysis of borehole water in University of Benin residential area. The physicochemical and bacteriological analysis of borehole water were based on standard methods and each parameters were compared with World Health Organisation standard (WHO) and National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC). The results obtained from physicochemical analysis were within the recommended standard and revealed that the borehole water was  “soft water” in terms of “hardness” while the bacteriological analysis showed that the borehole water was contaminated with Escherichia coli, Salmonella sp, Staphylococcous aureus, Bacillus sp and klebsiella sp. The antibiotic sensitivity test in this study revealed that Staphylococcus aureus was resistance to all the antibiotic sensitivity test of colistin, ciprofloxacin, gentamicin, erythromycin, tetracyclin, metronidazole, clindamycin and augmentin. Escherichai coli was intermediate for clindamycin. Bacillus sp was intermediate for ciprofloxacin. Klebsiella sp and Salmonella sp were susceptible to ciprofloxacin, gentamicin and augmentin. This study finds that water from the University of Benin residential area is not suitable for human consumption except treated. To this end, the study recommends that borehole water from these residential areas be treated using the most appropriate biological treatment method. More so, monitoring of the physicochemical and bacteriological analysis of the borehole water is crucial in evaluating and restoring the quality of water in the environment.