Abstract

Many households in Nigeria are dependent on alternative sources of water supply and are exposed to preventable water-borne diseases. This study was carried out to examine the bacterial quality of well water obtained from Onueke metropolis in Ebonyi State. The physicochemical parameters of water samples collected from 25 closed and 25 opened wells were analyzed following standard procedures while bacteriological quality of the water samples including coliform count and bacterial isolate identification were determined using serial dilution and multiple fermentation techniques. Results of the physiochemical parameters showed that pH, Electrical Conductivity, Total Hardness, Turbidity and nitrite were within the WHO standard limit for drinking water. The bacterial count ranged from 0.8 – 3.1 x 104 CFU /100ml involving E. coli (25%), Shigella spp (12.5%), Citrobacter spp (4.2%), Klebsiella spp (29.2%), Enterobacter spp (12.5%) and Salmonella spp (16.7%) as the dominant isolates and exceeded the WHO guidelines limit of 0 cfu/100ml for drinking water. Generally, the uncovered wells were more highly contaminated with bacteria pathogens than the covered wells. All samples were above the most probable number (MPN) per 100 ml permissible limit of WHO guidelines for untreated drinking water. In conclusion sampled well water from Onueke metropolis contained bacterial contaminants making the water not safe for drinking devoid of any further water treatment process. Keywords: Well water, Bacteria pathogen, Physiochemical, Bacteriological analysis, Waterborne

Key words: Well water, bacteria pathogen, physiochemical, bacteriological analysis, waterborne.