Bacteriological and Physicochemical Quality of Drinking Water in Adis Kidame Town, Northwest Ethiopia

Abstract

Drinking water pollution and the resulting waterborne diseases have been among the major public health burden in low-income countries such as Ethiopia. A high prevalence of waterborne diseases, up to 65%, has been reported in Adis Kidame Town (Ethiopia). Moreover, there have been poor waste disposal practices in this town. Thus, this study aimed to assess bacteriological and physicochemical drinking water quality in Adis Kidame Town to get insight into any potential health risks due to waterborne diseases. A total of 90 water samples were analyzed for enumeration of coliform bacteria and basic physicochemical parameters. In this study, total and faecal coliform counts (CFU/100 ml) ranged from 0 to 23 and 0 to 18, respectively. In all cases, 89 and 77% of the water samples in terms of total and faecal coliforms, respectively, did not comply with WHO guidelines. The highest level of coliforms was found in drinking water samples from households’ containers and taps, where 100% and 90% of samples were tested positive for total and faecal coliforms, respectively. Among the physicochemical parameters recorded, only temperature and residual chlorine did not comply with WHO guidelines. Temperature values in all samples ranged from 20 to 28°C, while the values of residual chlorine were below the recommended range in the 56.7% of water samples from the reservoir and almost in all (96.7%) water samples from the taps and households’ containers. High coliform count in the water system demands proper chlorination, regular inspection of the distribution line, and good hygienic practices to improve the microbiological quality of drinking water in Adis Kidame Town.

Safe water supply challenges for hand hygiene in the prevention of COVID-19 in Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region (SNNPR), Ethiopia

“…To that end, with the exception of some hand washing facilities in Wonago woreda (15.8%), none of the other woredas' hand washing facilities met the WHO guideline of less than 0.2 mg/l. This is consistent with the findings of a study conducted in Ethiopia's Addis Ketema woreda, which found that the concentration of residual chlorine in 96.7% of samples was below the normal range (0.2 mg/L-0.5 mg/L) [23].…”

Physicochemical and microbial quality of drinking water in slum households of Hawassa City, Ethiopia

“…Out of the total samples collected from the households, 15% were not met the recommended pH range. Turbidity deteriorates the physical quality and acceptance of drinking water as well contributes to the alteration of colour, odour and taste of the water (WHO 2021; Mohammed and Abdulrazzaq 2018;Sitotaw and Geremew 2021). All the sampled tap water met both the WHO and national standard (< 5NTU) while 5 (8.3%) of household water samples had turbidity above the standards.…”

“…In some parts of Ethiopia, drinking water quality studies were conducted by sampling different water supply sources and water from taps of the end-users. Most of the findings indicated that microbial and physicochemical characteristics of the waters were poor and below national and international water quality standards (Kassegne and Leta 2020;Gizachew et al 2020;Werkneh et al 2015;Yasin et al 2015a;Sitotaw and Geremew 2021;Duressa et al 2019;.…”

“…Faecal coliform and faecal streptococci are important indicators of faecal contamination of water. They are widely used in most developing countries since most water contaminations are caused from poor sanitation and hygienic practices (Gizachew et al 2020;Mohammed and Abdulrazzaq 2018;Sitotaw and Geremew 2021).…”

Physio chemical Water Quality Assessment from Source to Point of Use: The Case of Woldia Town, Ethiopia

“…Drinking water can be contaminated at any point along the supply chain, from the source to the household container, and contaminated water can carry a variety of viruses. As a result, 80 % of the world's population is affected by water-related diseases, and around 2billion people drink feces-contaminated water, resulting in an estimated 485,000 diarrhoeal fatalities per year (Sitotaw & Geremew, 2021).…”