Evaluation of the bacteriological characteristics of selected borehole water Samples in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria

Oghonim, Pius Akaraka Nkem

Department of Applied Microbiology and Brewing Faculty of Biosciences Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Awka   Nigeria

ABSTRACT

Drinkable water is one that is free from pathogens, low in compounds that are acutely toxic and have great long-term effects on human health. Bacteriological load of some borehole water samples in Agbor, Delta State were carried out to determine its potability for drinking and domestic purposes. Sixty water samples from fifteen boreholes were sampled in June and July, 2022 (rainy season); and January and February, 2023 (dry season). The total bacterial count and coliforms were determined by tenfold serial dilution and membrane filtration techniques respectively. Seven bacterial species namely Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas fluorescens, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Klebsiella aerogenes, Proteus mirabilis strain LYRY45, Proteus mirabilis strain AMJ230, and Salmonella enterica were  isolated. The presence of coliforms above WHO acceptable limits indicated that the borehole water samples are not fit for human consumption. The water samples were more contaminated in rainy season than in the dry season with the isolation of more organisms during the rainy season. The bacterium that had the highest frequency of occurrence in rainy season was Klebsiella aerogenes (19.60%), while Proteus mirabilis strain AMJ 230 had the least frequency of occurrence (10.66%). Salmonella enterica had the highest frequency of occurrence (27.32%) in dry season, while Pseudomonas fluorescens had the least frequency of occurrence (6.48%).

Keywords: Bacteriological, borehole, water, Agbor, Delta State and Nigeria

INTRODUCTION

Water is vital to many life processes and they could also serve as route through which disease- causing pathogens can be transmitted. It can also contain heavy metals and other chemical substances that may adversely affect human health. Ensuring good quality of drinking water is a basic factor for guaranteeing public health [1]. Potable water is that which is odourless, colourless, practically tasteless and free from physical, chemical and biological contaminants [2]. Water is exploited by man for several commercial, agricultural, domestic and industrial usages; and the usage of water for any activity usually depends on the cleanness of the water. The quality of water is determined by its physical, chemical and microbiological characteristics [3]. The paucity of water supply in Nigeria has forced residents to depend on shallow dug boreholes as the sources of water for drinking and domestic purposes [3]. Groundwater sources are commonly vulnerable to pollution, which may degrade their quality. Generally, groundwater quality varies from place to place, and this sometimes depends on seasonal changes [4]; [5]. The quality of water also depends on the types of soils, rocks and surfaces through which it moves beneath the earth. Access to potable drinking water is a major public health issue in many parts of the world especially in most developing economies (Nigeria inclusive) where water hygiene and sanitation may still be poor. The people living in these countries usually get their primary source of water from boreholes, surface waters such as streams, ponds, rivers and the open skies when it rains. Population growth coupled with increased industrialization, livestock farming and urbanization have led to frequent contamination of rivers [6]. Due to the inability of some governments to meet the ever-increasing water demand of their populace, most people often resort to groundwater sources such as boreholes as alternative water source. Borehole water therefore, is a primary source of water in most developing nations; and the chemical, physical and biological constituents of these sources of water is a critical public health issue that needs to be ascertained on periodic basis. Borehole water serves as one of the easily accessed and cheap commercial sources of drinking water for a greater number of the Nigerian populace; and they also infer that the conformation of these sources of water to lay down microbiological standards is of public health interest because of their capacity to spread diseases within a large population. The provision of potable water to both the rural and urban population is necessary to prevent public health hazards such as the emergence and spread of waterborne pathogens [7]; [8]. Agbor in Delta State depends mostly on ground water, its abstraction account for 20% of the total water usage. Currently, demands for groundwater usage have been increasing due to population growth and diminishing opportunities to economically develop potable water supplies [9]. The management of the resource is lagging behind the pace of development, and often, very little sanitary practice is exercised in its exploitation. The current groundwater resources development and supply status is unacceptably low and needs a major transformation [10]. The digging of more boreholes in Agbor brings the need to monitor the issue of water quality that remains a major contender of its supposed existence in abundance essentially its quality is as equally important as its quantity. The quality of water is of vital concern for mankind since it is directly linked with human welfare. According to [11], the quality of public health depends to a greater extent the quality of groundwater. Physicochemical and bacteriological parameters of water indicate the safety of potable water [12] and their analysis is important for public Health and pollution studies [13]. The increase in the prevalence of waterborne diseases across the world is alarming, and Nigeria is not left out since some outbreaks of waterborne diseases have also been reported in this part of the world [14]; [15]. Since borehole water is an important alternative source of potable water to most people in both the rural and urban areas across the world, it is vital to evaluate their physicochemical and microbiological quality since these sources of water are usually at risk of pollution from human and other environmental activities. Thus, this study determined the physical, chemical and bacteriological quality of some selected borehole water sources in Agbor, Delta State owing to the fact that this source of water is commonly patronized in this region.  High increase in the outbreak of waterborne diseases such as cholera, and typhoid due to the intake of contaminated water has been repeatedly reported in Agbor, Delta State. The less availability of Environmental and Health impact Assessment (EHIA) and lack of knowledge on proper waste management and sewage disposal by occupants of Agbor have led to siting of boreholes close to contamination areas like septic tanks, refuse dump sites resulting to high occurrence of water related diseases from percolation or infiltration of leachates from such areas into the groundwater.  

DISCUSSION

Groundwater has been considered as a safe source of drinking water. However, nowadays, the quality of drinking water is deteriorating [19]. Groundwater exploitation is generally considered as the only realistic option for meeting dispersed rural and urban water demand. Due to inability of governments to meet the ever-increasing water demand, residents’ resort to shallow wells etc as alternative water resources for domestic purposes. The effect of uncontrolled disposal systems and other bad sanitary practices in Agbor can render groundwater unsafe for human, agricultural and recreational use, hence, posing a threat to human life and is therefore against the principle of sustainable development. Therefore, the present study focuses on the seasonal evaluation of the bacteriological parameters of selected borehole water samples in Agbor, Delta State. The analysis of the total bacterial count in the borehole water samples revealed the presence of heterotrophic bacteria in all the water samples. The W.H.O standard for heterotrophic bacteria in potable water states that the total heterotrophic bacteria count should not be more than 100cfu/ml [18]. The bacteria load for all the water samples analyzed in this study were generally high, but did not exceed the maximum acceptable limit. Results that the values of total bacterial count during the rainy season ranged from 3.65 log cfu/ml to 3.92 log cfu/ml (Table 10), and 3.54 log cfu/ml to 3.83 log cfu/ml during the dry season. For the rainy season, Oghonim borehole had the least bacterial load, while Omumu borehole had the highest value. During the dry season, Jodes borehole recorded the least number of isolates, while Omumu borehole had the highest value (Table 10). 100 % of the inlet values were within the WHO permissible limit for domestic water (100 cfu/ml). The average total bacterial count ranged from 43 cfu/ml – 77 cfu/ml for both seasons. These results are similar with the findings of [20] who recorded zero to 8.1 x 102 cfu/ml and zero to 2.5 x 102 cfu/ml for borehole water samples (rainy and dry seasons respectively) in Ijebu-ode with about eighty percent of the samples having bacterial count within the admissible limit of 100 cfu/ml for potable water. These findings are in agreement with the work carried out by [21] which stated that there were higher bacterial counts during rainy season than in dry season. It was observed that the number of bacterial counts during the rainy season was higher than the count obtained in dry season. This may be attributed to increased contamination from surface water run-offs, shallow depths and bad sanitary practices in rainy season. This result agrees with the findings of [22] that there are high counts of bacteria pathogens in most borehole water in some parts of Nigeria.

The total number of bacteria in the borehole water for both rainy and dry season were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance at Alpha level of 0.05 which showed that there was extreme significant difference (p = 0.0421) between the water samples.The average faecal coliform count obtained from both seasons ranged from 0 cfu/100 ml to 7 cfu/100ml (Table 13) and 80 % of the values exceeded [18] standard of 0 cfu/100ml. This indicated that a significant number of the borehole water samples are not fit for drinking and domestic purposes. This result corroborates with the findings of [23] who recorded similar faecal coliform values of 0 cfu/100 ml to 10 cfu/100 from Lokuwa borehole water samples located in Mubi Metropolis, Adamawa state, Nigeria. This may be as a result of poor sanitary result such as proximity to septic tanks, agricultural farms, and poultry houses which were against the W.H.O Standard (2006). WHO recommends that boreholes should be located at least 30m away from latrines and 17m from septic tank.

The average Pseudomonas fluorescens and Pseudomonas aeruginosa count obtained from both seasons ranged from 0 cfu/100 ml to 5 cfu/100ml and 0 cfu/100 ml to 6 cfu/100ml respectively. Also, 80% and 93.33% of the values exceeded [18] standard of 0 cfu/100ml. This indicated that a significant number of the borehole water samples are not fit for drinking and domestic purposes. These results agreed with the findings of [24] who reported that 85% of the pseudomonas species exceeded the acceptable limit from groundwater samples in Nsukka. The average total coliform count obtained from both seasons ranged from 7 cfu/100 ml to 18 cfu/100ml and 73.33 % of the values exceeded WHO (2006) standard of 10 cfu/100ml. This indicated that a significant number of the borehole water samples are not fit for drinking and domestic purposes. This may be as a result of the proximity of the borehole water systems to waste water management systems. This result is similar to previous findings by [15], and [25], who isolated coliforms from potable borehole water systems located near waste water sewage systems. Also, it may be as a result of the fact that the pipes used for water distribution were rusty thus allowing seepage of microbial contaminants into the borehole water. Also, long term usage of borehole may lead to the deterioration of the water quality, because the pipeline may become corroded with random cracks and in most cases clogged with sediment, thus allows the passage of inorganic metals and bacteria. The Occurrence of the bacterial isolates in the borehole water samples during both rainy and dry season were analyzed using two-way analysis of variance at Alpha level of 0.05 which showed that there was extreme significant difference (p < 0.0298) between the water samples. This borehole water samples revealed the presence of Escherichia coli (13.26%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (10.95%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (15.85%), Klebsiella aerogenes (19.60%), Proteus mirabilis strain LYRY45 (12.39%), Proteus mirabilis strain AMJ230 (10.66%), Salmonella enterica (17.29%)  during the rainy season. Also, the borehole water samples revealed the presence of Escherichia coli (10.19%), Pseudomonas fluorescens (6.48%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (12.5%), Klebsiella aerogenes (23.6%), Proteus mirabilis strain LYRY45 (12.5%), Proteus mirabilis strain AMJ230 (7.41%), Salmonella enterica (27.32%) (Table 16) during the dry season. Salmonella enterica and Pseudomonas fluorescens had the highest and lowest percentage frequency of isolation respectively than the other isolates during both seasons. These findings were similar to the values obtained by [26], [23] and [27]. The slight differences in results may be due to collection methods, sanitary quality of the different studied areas and geographical location. [26] revealed the presence of 31 isolates belonging to the genera: Bacillus (19.35%), Staphylococcus aureus (16.14%), Pseudomonas (12.90%), Escherichia coli (12.90%),Proteus (12.90%), Enterobacter (6.45%), Streptococcus (6.45%), Salmonella (3.23%) and Vibrio (3.23%) from major sources of water for domestic uses in Calabar Metropolis, Cross river State, Nigeria. [23] stated that Escherichia coli (37.5%), Citrobacter sp (2.5%), Enterobacter aerogenes (12.5%), Salmonella sp (2.5%), Proteus vulgaris (27.5%) and Klebsiella pneumoniae (17.5%) were present in borehole water samples located in Mubi Metropolis, Nigeria. [27] isolated Aeromonas hydrophila (14.7%), Serratia liquefaciens (10.9%), Micrococcus luteus (13.1%), Klebsiella oxytoca (1.4%), Serratia marcescens (12.2%), Proteus vulgaris (9.9%), Vibrio cholerae (0.3%), Citrobacter freundii (0.8%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (19.7%) and Pseudomonas fluorescens (17.0%) from Public Hand-Pump Borehole Water in Onueke, Ezza South local Government Area, Ebonyi State, Nigeria.

                                                                                CONCLUSION

The water samples from the boreholes examined in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria were of poor quality with regards to bacteriological parameters. The detection of total bacteria, total coliforms, faecal coliforms, and other pathogenic bacteria in significant numbers indicated that the water samples are not potable for human consumption and this may be attributed to poor sanitary practices by residents.

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CITE AS: Oghonim, Pius Akaraka Nkem (2023). Evaluation of the bacteriological characteristics of selected borehole water Samples in Agbor, Delta State, Nigeria. NEWPORT INTERNATIONAL JOURNAL OF SCIENTIFIC AND EXPERIMENTAL SCIENCES (NIJSES) 3(3): 168-185.