Assessment of Dug Well Water Contamination by Faecal Matter from Pit Latrines at Kasseh in the Ada East District, Ghana

Abstract

Introduction Dug well water resource serves as a reliable drinking water source for many people particularly in developing countries. There is therefore the need to regularly assess them for possible contamination from various sources including anthropological sources. Objective This research assessed the quality of dug wells water from selected dug wells that has at least one pit latrine within 30 m proximity in the Kasseh community in the Ada East District of Ghana for contamination by faecal matter. Methodology Triplicate samples of water from thirty (30) dug-wells each was analysed for physiochemical parameters including Temperature, pH, Electrical Conductivity, Alkalinity and Salinity. Also included was Nitrate and Chloride levels, microbial characteristic such as total coliform and faecal coliform counts. Results From the analysis of the results obtained, all the Physicochemical parameters (Temperature, pH, Salinity, Alkalinity, Chloride and Nitrate) except Total dissolved solid (TDS) were within the acceptable drinking water quality standard range set by the World Health Organization (WHO). TDS however, was significantly high relative to drinking water standards set by WHO (t =2.309, p = 0.0283). The microbiological quality of water sampled from the dug wells also showed that Total Viable, Total Coliform and Faecal coliform bacteria counts were statistically significant from the required WHO water quality standards for drinking water with (t =18.430, p = <0.0000), (t =8.671, p = <0.0000) and (t = 2.071, p = 0.0474) respectively. However, in this study the distance between the pit latrines, the number of pit latrines surrounding the dug well as well as the depth of water in the dug well did not predict the level of dug well water contamination. Conclusion The prevalence of the indicator bacteria contaminants in sampled water was indicative of faecal matter contamination of dug well water in Kasseh in Ada East District of Ghana. Dug well water from Kasseh are therefore not wholesome for use as drinking water without subjecting them to any prior treatments methods. The contamination may be ascribed to the presence of the pit latrine in close proximity to these wells.