Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Analyses of Water Used for Drinking and Swimming Purposes in Abeokuta, Nigeria.

Physicochemical and bacteriological analyses were carried out on well water, stream water and river water used for drinking and swimming purposes in Abeokuta, Nigeria. The results obtained were compared with WHO and EPA standards for drinking and recreational water. With the exception of Sokori stream and a well water that did not comply with Turbidity and Mg²⁺ standards respectively, all others were within the standards set for P^H, Color, Total solids, Total dissolved solids, acidity, total hardness, Ca²⁺ hardness, chloride and Iron. None of the samples complied with bacteriological standards as Total coliform counts generally exceeded 1,600 MPN/ml, and pathogen count such as Salmonella-Shigella counts and Vibrio cholerae counts were very high. The presence of pathogens in water for drinking and swimming purposes is of public health significance considering the possibility of the presence of other bacteria, protozoa and enteric viruses that are implicated in gastro-intestinal water borne diseases and the low infectious dose for these water borne pathogens.