Experimental Determination of Drinking Water Quality in Abeokuta Metropolis, South-western Nigeria

Abstract

In this study, fifty (50) randomly selected drinking water sources in Abeokuta metropolitan city in Ogun state, south-western Nigeria; were experimentally studied to determine their suitability to be designated as “Safe Drinking Water Sources”. Thus, water samples collected from each of these fifty(50) drinking water sources [comprising of ten (10) Taps, fifteen(15) Hand-dug wells and twenty(25) Bore-holes] were repeatedly subjected to one(1) microbiological and twenty-five(25) physico-chemical analytical tests, in accordance with the standard test procedures specified by ASTM, APHA and USEPA, under laboratory conditions. This was done, in order to determine whether/not the fifty (50) tested drinking water samples conformed to the global (WHO) and national (NSDWQ, SON) standards’ requirements for potable (safe drinking) water. Consequent upon testing, it was observed that, 100% i.e. all fifty(50) drinking water samples showed conformity to the standards’ requirements with respect to Alkalinity, Salinity, Total hardness, Turbidity, Electrical-conductivity, Temperature, Total Dissolved Solids, BOD, Sodium, Potassium, Calcium, Magnesium, Chloride, Sulphate, Nitrate, Zinc, Chromium and Manganese contents. With exception to the Iron content, in which all the water-samples exceeded the standard’s limits, [although, no adverse health conditions are associated with this]; 78% (39 samples), 12% (6 samples), 84% (42 samples) and 10% (5 samples) of the water samples failed to conform to the standard’s requirements in terms of pH, Lead, Cadmium and Zero-count of Total coliforms; with values ranging from 4.336.77 , 0.000  0.074mg / L , 0.001 0.081mg / L and 1.04.0 counts /100mL respectively.The respective health implications of these cases of non-conformity include disequilibrium in the body’s alkalinity-acidity balance, cancer, nervous system dysfunction, kidney-related problems and low-risk total-coliforms contamination.