Microbial Contamination of Hand Dug Wells and Pit Latrines in Fiapre in the Sunyani, Ghana.

Abstract

Water is an essential resource and contributes immensely to the survival of man. This study investigated the microbial quality of hand dug wells sited near pit latrines in households of Fiapre community. Water samples were taken from five hand-dug wells sited near pit latrines over a period of 6 months. Analysis of the results based on selected physicochemical parameters showed that, SP4 was the most acidic (5.63) with SP5 being the most basic (6.15). The study also showed that, SP5 had the highest conductivity (160.33±17.59 μs/cm) compared to the other 4 wells. With respect to microbial indicators of pollution, the study showed that, for total coliforms, SP4 was the most polluted with mean log10 of 1.9 x 102 colony forming units (cfu)/100mls. This was followed by SP3 (log10 1.44 x102 cfu/100mls) and then SP5 (log10 of 1.09 X 102 cfu/100mls). With respect to Escherichia coli, the results showed that, SP2 was the most polluted with cfu counts of 18.25cfu/100ml whiles drinking water from SP4 was the least polluted (4 cfu/100mls). Analysis of the results based on Enterococci feacalis showed that, water from SP4 was the least polluted (log10 1.125 cfu/100mls). It was also observed there was a significant association between distances from dug-wells and the nearest pit latrine with respect to E. coli loads in the water samples. The study revealed that all the microbial indicators of pollution exceeded the EPA/WHO guidelines for drinking water making them unsafe for drinking.