Water constitutes about 70% of the earth’s total mass and all life is dependent on
water. Inadequate sanitation is a major cause of disease worldwide and improving
sanitation is known to have a significant beneficial impact on health both in
households and across communities. Water and sanitation are closely related and
cannot be isolated. If uncontaminated water is available, reliable and convenient to
collect, more water is consumed, both for hygienic purposes and for drinking which
can improve health. In this study, the effect of sanitation on the bacteriological quality
of water was evaluated. The study also assessed the sanitation facilities available in
the three communities, the water facilities used and the bacterial contamination of
household water. A cluster survey system was employed in three communities namely
Tetegu, Mayera and Ashongman village in the Greater Accra Region of Ghana. Thirty
households were clustered within each community. Within each household in each
community, domestic water stored was analyzed for bacterial contamination using
UriSelect 4 medium. This was used because it allows the isolation and counting of all
organisms using a standard bacteriological loop plating method. Standardized
questionnaires were administered in each household to ascertain the type of water and
sanitation infrastructure. Seventy-seven percent and 87% of respondents relied on
public standpipes in the Ashongman and Tetegu communities, respectively. Eightythree
percent of respondents in Mayera relied on the Nsaki river. Eighty percent of
respondents used the KVIP at Mayera, 97% of respondents at Tetegu resorted to open
defecation, and 57% of respondents also used the pit latrine at Ashongman
community. A total of ten bacterial species namely:
Escherichia coli
,
Pseudomonas aeruginosa
,
Klebsiella pneumoniae
,
Enterococcus faecalis
,
Proteus mirabilis
,
Streptococcus agalactiae
.
Enterobacter cloacae
,
Staphylococcus saprophytic
Candida albicans
and
Staphylococcus aureus
were identified in domestic water
stored. This study therefore recommends that policy makers must ensure the provision
of basic infrastructure such as toilet facilities to reduce the likely contamination of
water sources from poor sanitation facilities.
