Analysis of Microbial and Physico-Chemical Parameters of Drinking Water from Boreholes in the Upper East Region

Abstract

Access to and availability of high-quality water are critical for sustainable development. But in most developing countries, including Ghana, a high percentage of people living in rural areas do not have access to both quantity and quality of water. A significant number of these people rely on alternative water sources such as precipitation, springs, boreholes, and streams. Consequently, during the dry season, water-borne diseases associated with unclean water sources are more common. Fluoride-containing minerals, which are commonly found in sedimentary and igneous rocks, are found in several settlements in Ghana's Upper East region. As such, this work sort to measure the amounts of some metals, physico-chemical and microbial parameters present in the borehole water sources to assess whether the borehole water sources are suitable for drinking and other household applications. The HACH DR 3900 method was employed with some modification in determining the physico-chemical parameters and metals, while the microbial studies were done using the membrane filtration method. The results suggest that the physico-chemical parameters generally are within the accepted limit set by the Ghana Standard Authority (GSA) and the World Health Organization (WHO) water quality recommendations. However, fluoride levels recorded at Bolgatanga and Bongo districts gave concentrations as high as 2.7 mg/L and 2.0 mg/L, respectively, which is above the set limit of 1.5 mg/L. Also, the studied metals Mg, Ca, Fe, Cu, and Zn were within the required limits. Additionally, microbial studies showed the presence of total coliform and E. Coli in all the districts. Levels of total coliform and E. Coli were highest at the Bongo district, 115 CFU/100 mL and 53 CFU/100 mL, respectively. The observed presence of fluoride, E. Coli and total coliform poses significant health risks and calls for proactive measures to check the safety of water to protect human lives.