Microbiological assessment of well waters in Samaru, Zaria, Kaduna, State, Nigeria

Background: Majority of the human population in semi-urban and urban areas in Nigeria are heavily reliant on well water as the main source of water supply for drinking and domestic use due to inadequate provision of potable pipe borne water. These groundwater sources can easily be fecally contaminated and thus, increase the incidence and outbreaks of preventable waterborne diseases. This study was carried out to determine the bacteriological quality of some well waters in Samaru, Z. Materials and Methods: Samaru, Zaria located in Northern Nigeria, is a semi-urban university satellite town blessed with abundant ground and surface water. Five sampling sites were randomly selected for this study. A total of 10 samples: Two from each of the sites were collected fortnightly for 1 month (May-June, 2013). Samples were analyzed using presumptive multiple tube fermentation and confirmatory tests for total and fecal coliforms. The well water samples were also cultured for Salmonella, Shigella, and Vibrio chole. Results: The total coliform count for all the samples analyzed was >180+/100 ml. All the well water samples from the study locations were contaminated with one or more bacterial pathogens, Escherichia coli 20%, Klebsiella pneumoniae 100% and Proteus mirabilis 40%. Salmonella, Shigella, or V. cholerae were not isolated from any of the well water samples. Conclusions: The results from this study showed contamination of all the wells studied with fecal coliforms thus, indicating the possible presence of other enteric pathogens and a potential source for waterborne disease outbreaks. Well water in Samaru is not safe for drinking without additional treatment like disinfection or boiling. Periodic testing and constant monitoring of well waters should also be done to meet up with the World Health Organization Standards in the provision of safe, clean drinking water.