Bacterial contamination of water sources for domestic use in JOS and environs

Purpose:  The purpose of the study was to assess and examine water bodies in Jos, Plateau State for bacterial contamination.
Methods: A total of ninety four (90) water samples were collected aseptically from different sources (stream, well, borehole, tap, dam, storage tanks and water vendors) from different locations and investigated for their bacterial contaminants using the Most Probable Number Technique (MPN). Structured questionnaires were used to obtain information on the location, depth, sanitary condition and closeness of the water sources to septic tanks. The bacterial isolates present in the water samples were identified based on their morphology and biochemical characteristics. Total bacterial count was determined using the pour plate technique and total coliform count was by the Most Probable Number (MPN) method.
Results: From the T-Test result of the mean coliform count of all the seven different water sources investigated, storage tanks (ST) were found to be the least contaminated followed by Tap water (TW) while stream (STR) water had the highest rate of contamination with MPN index of 300/100 ml. However, borehole water 6 (BW6) was the least contaminated among all the samples collected with MPN index of 7/10 ml. The MPN index range from 7/100 ml to 300/100 ml in BH6 and STR7 respectively while the Total viable count ranged from 1.0 × 102 to 3.3 × 103.  A total of seven different isolates were characterized and identified as Pseudomonas aeroginosa, Klebsiella pneumonia, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Proteus vulgaris, Staphylococcus aureus and Proteus mirabilis. The results obtained were analysed using SPSS Version 21.
Conclusion: This study reveals that all the different water samples collected and investigated were contaminated with bacteria.