Physicochemical and Bacteriological Properties of Water from Owo Local Government Area, Nigeria

Water is indispensable for healthy living, but it can be a vehicle for disease transmission. This study evaluated physicochemical properties, bacteria and their antibiotic resistance patterns in water from Owo Local Government Area. Twenty one water samples from boreholes (BW), stream (SW), and wells (WW) were collected using aseptic techniques. Bacteria were isolated and subjected to plate counts and identified using biochemical and molecular characterization methods, while antimicrobial susceptibility test (AST) was carried out using the Kirby-Bauer method. The physicochemical parameters including temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, dissolved oxygen, turbidity, chloride, and fluoride content were determined using standard methods. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) was employed for data analysis (p-values < 0.05). The findings revealed that BW had the lowest plate count value of 3.3×103-6.0×103 cfu/mL, followed by WW (3.9×103 cfu/mL-8.7×103 cfu/mL), and SW (9.2×103 cfu/mL) while coliform counts ranged from 0 to 1600 MPN/100 mL. Borehole water samples were less contaminated (0-48 MPN/100 mL) when compared to SW and WW (150-1600 MPN/100 mL). AST results showed that some isolates (Salmonella spp., Citrobacter spp., Vibrio spp., Klebsiella spp., and Pseudomonas spp.) were resistant to more than three antibiotics and were thus considered to be multidrug resistant (MDR) bacteria. The physicochemical parameters were within the permisible limit (as recommended by WHO), except for chloride (122-255 mg/L) and flouride (0.39-1.99 mg/L) concentrations, which were above the standards (200 mg/L and 1.5 mg/L, respectively). Most of the water samples from wells and stream did not meet the standard criteria for drinking and domestic purposes. The presence of resistant bacteria poses serious health risks to individuals and the communities. Hence, this study recommends proper water treatment, monitoring, and good personal hygiene to avert the dangers associated with possible disease outbreaks in the study area.