Bacteriological assessment of borehole water in some communities in Owerri West, Southeastern Nigeria

The proliferation of boreholes dug by individuals, public and private entities in a bid to overcome the problem of water shortage has caused various communities in Owerri West, southeastern Nigeria to depend on borehole water as readily available water for drinking and domestic purposes. Unfortunately, the water is not treated before it is used for drinking and there is no surveillance of bacteria in the water to ascertain its safety. In consideration of this fact, a study was conducted to assess the bacteriological quality of borehole water in some communities in the area. Borehole water samples were aseptically collected from four communities. The bacteriological assessment was carried out using standard microbiological methods involving determination of total coliform count, total faecal coliform count and total heterotrophic bacterial count. The total coliform counts of the water samples ranged from 1.3x10² to 1.3x10⁴ CFUmL^-1 while the total faecal coliform and total heterotrophic bacterial counts ranged from 1.3x10² to 5.8x10⁴ CFUmL^-1 and 1.1x10² to 8.7x10⁴ CFUmL^-1 respectively. The organisms isolated from the borehole water samples included Shigella sp, Enterococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus sp, Klebsiella sp and Escherichia coli. The total bacteria counts exceed the limit set by the World Health Organization for drinking and domestic purposes. Moreover, the pathogenic organisms isolated from the water samples could cause serious health problems in humans. Hence, the borehole water should be treated properly before use and other preventive approaches should be adopted to minimize possible health risks associated with the use of the borehole water.