A Survey of Bacteriological Quality of Pipe Borne Water from Various Locations in Bosso Town, North Central, Nigeria

Abstract

ABSTRACT This study was carried out to determine the coliform contamination of public boreholes and pipe borne water supplies within Bosso town. Ten (10) pipe borne water samples were aseptically collected (according to standard methods) from Bosso town and analyzed using membrane filtration techniques. The results obtained showed that all (100.0%) of the pipe borne water samples had coliform counts above 0 cfu/100ml. The bacteria isolated included species of Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Shigella, Clostridium, Bacillus, Yersinia, Serratia. .E.coli had the highest frequency of occurrence (20%) followed in descending order by Staphylococcus aureus (11.7%), Salmonella spp (11.7%), Shigella spp (11.7%), Clostridium spp (8.3), Streptococcus faecalis (8.3%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (6.7%), Bacillus subtilis (6.7%), Streptococcus pyrogenes (5%), Klebsiella spp (3.3%), Proteus vulgaris (3.3%), Yersinia spp (1.7%) and Serratia spp (1.7%).This study reveals that pipe borne water samples were contaminated with bacteria. This highlights the need for a continuous assessment of the quality of public water supply and the introduction of intervention measures to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.