Microbial and Physicochemical Quality of River Water in Delta State, Nigeria

Water is essential to man as a source of life and well-being. Water make up 70% of the body mass index. Over 71% of the earth is made up of water but only a little is potable and available for man’s use. The sources of water to man include ground water, surface water and so on.  River water is a vital source of water to the rural and urban communities and need to be preserved from pollution. The study investigated the microbial load and physicochemical parameters of ten rivers across Delta State. Microbial quality and Physicochemical analyses were determined by standard methods. Results showed that the total bacterial count of water samples were within the range of 5 ×10^-4 cfu/ml, and the least was 1.0 ×10^-3 cfu/ml. Bacteria isolated included Bacillus spp, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Staphylococcus aureus, Proteus spp Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Streptococcus spp and Enterobacter spp. Coliform count varied with the rivers sampled. Physiochemical results also varied with the river. Temperature ranged from 27-28 ^oC, pH (6.30-7.9), Dissolved Oxygen (5.3-7.40mg/L), B.O.D (2.11-3.60mg/L), Conductivity (15-37 µs/cm), Colour (from cloudy to clear), TDS (2.14-8.41mg/L), S.S (0.19-4.46 mg/L), Hardness (0.11-16.1 mg/L), Pb (0.11-0.28 ppm), chloride (0.96-3.03), Zn (0.32-2.80 ppm), Cu (0.32-2.16 ppm), Nitrate (0.90-2,61 ppm), Cd (0.01-0.04 ppm) and Cr (0.01-0.07 ppm). Pathogenic bacteria were detected in the river samples. Though physicochemical results show that water is safe for domestic use apart from a few that had heavy metals content above the standard limit, there is a need for the population to be educated on pollution control and water disinfection before use.