An investigation of selected microbial pollutants in groundwater sources in Yenegoa Town, Bayelsa, Nigeria

Authors

  • Ifeanyichukwu Clinton Ezekwe
  • George Nwabuko Chima
  • Gbakie Ikogori

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.7213/estud.biol.7847

Keywords:

Groundwater, Microbial contaminants, Urban ecology, Water quality, Water monitoring.

Abstract

Potable water is a scarce resource in Yenegoa (Bayelsa Nigeria) town because of problems of quality and contamination. Residents in the town depend therefore on imported water and ground water sources for sustenance. Over 200 boreholes exist in the city and constitute the major source of domestic water to this growing third world city. Thus, the present study aimed to diagnose the quality of the water consumed by the population. For this, 30 boreholes were selected and the presence of readily analyzable biological contaminants in ground water sources in the city and its health implications was examined. Selected micro-organisms (coliform, E. coli, Pseudomonas and Salmonella) where analyzed and compared with WHO/FEPA water quality standards. Results revealed the presence of hazardous biological communities in the ground water sources especially in the Opolo-Okaka-Old Yenegoa-Swali axis, while groundwater sources from the up-gradient and more clayey Igbogene-Agudama-Okutukutu axis were relatively free of the selected biological contaminants. The study concludes that ground water in the Yenegoa central district and the Swali areas su!er intense biological contamination which therefore exposes inhabitants to water borne diseases such as: cholera, diarrhea, typhoid fever, bacterial and amebic dysentery, polio infections, hepatitis and schistosomiasis. Suspected contamination sources is seepage from oft-ill constructed soak-away pits and groundwater problems arising from the seasonal "ooding of porous soil formations and the collapse of the water table especially in the long rainy season that characterize the study area.

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Published

2013-11-27

How to Cite

Ezekwe, I. C., Chima, G. N., & Ikogori, G. (2013). An investigation of selected microbial pollutants in groundwater sources in Yenegoa Town, Bayelsa, Nigeria. Revista Estudos De Biologia, 35(84). https://doi.org/10.7213/estud.biol.7847

Issue

Section

Fluxo Contínuo