Comparative Study of Coliform Contamination of Public Wells and Pipe Borne Water Supplies in Bosso, Minna, Niger State

Abstract

This study was carried out to determine the coliform contamination of public wells and pipe borne water supplies within Bosso town. Twenty (20) water samples comprising of 10 each of wells and pipe borne samples were aseptically collected from Bosso Town and analyzed using membrane filtration technique. The results obtained showed that all the water samples from the well and pipe had coliform counts above 10cfu/100ml. The organisms isolated and identified through various biochemical tests,included species of Escherichia, Pseudomonas, Streptococcus, Staphylococcus, Salmonella, Shigella, Campylobacter, Bacillus, Proteus, Helicobacter, Klebsiella, and Yersinia. E.coli had the highest frequency of occurrence (24.4%) followed by Helicobacter pylori (13.3%), Staphylococcus aureus (10.0%), Salmonella typhi (8.9 %), Shigella flexneri (6.7%), Streptococcus faecalis (5.6%), Streptococcus pyogenes (5.6%), Campylobacter jenuni (4.4%), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (4.4%), Bacillus subtilis (4.4%), Proteus mirabilis(4.4%), Klebsiella pneumonia (3.3%), Proteus vulgaris (3.3%) and Yersinia enterocolitica (1.1%). This study revealed that well water and pipe borne water samples were contaminated, with greater contamination observed with well water. This highlights the need for a continuous assessment of the quality of public water supply and intervention measures to prevent outbreak of water-borne diseases.