Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Evaluation of Water Bodies in Quarry Sites in Ishiagu Ebonyi State

Abstract

Analysis of the physico-chemical and bacteriological properties of water bodies in Ishiagu Ebonyi State were investigated between April and November 2013, to assess the extent of contamination of these water bodies as a result of the quarry and mining activities in the study area. These sites were investigated during the rainy season and dry season of the research period. Standard analytical methods were employed in the study and the World Health Organization (WHO) maximum acceptable standards for potable water were used to evaluate the degree of potability of the water bodies as well as evaluate possible public health implications. Major microbial species isolated in batches A, B and C include Flavobacterium species, Bacillus species, Streptomyces species, Staphylococcus species, Escherichia coli, Corynebacteriums species, Enterococcus species, Klebsiella species, Streptococcus species, Salmonella species, Citrobacter species, Aeromonas species, Pseudomonas species, Actinomyces species. Batch D in addition, had Vibrio species and Spirillium species. Batch A (quarry site end) sample point A2 yielded the highest total coliform count of 8.0 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 1.7 x 10 cfu/ml in Eosin methylene blue (EMB) culture in the dry season whereas in the rainy season, it was sample point A3 that yielded as high as 17.2 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 11.8 x 102 cfu/ml in EMB culture. Batch B (midstream) sample point B1 yielded 4.8 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 1.5 x 10 cfu/ml in EMB culture in the dry season, whereas in the rainy season, sample point B3 yielded as high as 12.6 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 9.8 x 102 cfu/ml in EMB culture. Batch C (community end) sample point C3 yielded 8.3 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 3.8 x 10 cfu/ml in EMB culture in the dry season while sample point C1 yielded 5.5 x 103 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 4.7 x 10 cfu/ml in EMB culture in the rainy season. Batch D (excavation pit) sample point D3 yielded as high as 8.9 x 10 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and nil in EMB culture in the dry season, while in the rainy season, it yielded 4.8 x 102 cfu/ml in nutrient agar culture and 4.0 x 102 cfu/ml in EMB culture. The pH of batches A, B, and C ranged from 6.0 – 7.4, whereas that of batch D was 5.3 – 5.9 which is below the WHO permissible standard. Electrical conductivity 20 – 36 μScm-1, Turbidity (11.3 – 18.9NTU), Total hardness (100.7 – 180.5 mg/l), Total dissolved solids (42 – 181 mg/l), Alkalinity (30 – 121 mg/l), Phosphate (0.1 – 0.5 mg/l), Sulphates (8.05 – 35.80 mg/l), Zinc (0.03 – 0.9 mg/l), Manganese (0.01 – 0.1 mg/l), of all water samples analyzed were within the WHO maximum permissible limit while Nitrates (0.05 – 15.9 mg/l), Calcium (0.2 – 67.5 mg/l), Iron (0.02 – 16.4 mg/l), Copper (1.4 – 20.1 mg/l), Cadmium (0.01 – 0.7 mg/l), Arsenic (0.02 mg/l), and Lead (0.06 – 16.4 mg/l), in some of the samples analyzed were above the WHO maximum permissible limit. Pearson moments correlation was used to statistically analyze the data generated and values were considered significant at p < 0.05. The mean total bacterial count for wet season was 11.5 x 102cfu/ml while for the dry season, it was 7.0 x 102cfu/ml. Variance in seasonality was significantly different as total bacterial count was higher in the wet season than in the dry season. The results revealed that virtually all the water bodies examined were contaminated by at least three bacterial species, which may be pollution-induced as a result of both domestic and mining/quarry activities in Ishiagu.