Assessment of Watercare Efficacy on Treatment of Water for Human Consumption in Makurdi Metropolis Nigeria

Abstract

Assessment of the efficacy of Water-Care in the treatment of water to safe health level was carried out on water samples from different water sources within six populated communities of Makurdi Metropolis. Thirty six (36) water samples were collected and treated with WaterCare based on the product manufacturer’s instructions. Treated water stored for 30 minutes and 24 hours were tested for coliforms using Multiple Tube Fermentation technique. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) was used with the Tukey Honestly Significant Difference (HSD) for multiple comparisons of the data variables. Most probable Number (MPN) of coliforms /100mL of sampled water ranged from 43 to >1,100cfu/100ml. Mean MPN of treated water for30 minutes and 24 hours interval was 37.7±33.0cfu/100ml and 16.17±14.8cfu/100ml respectively. Improved/deep sources such as boreholes show 3cfu/100ml and 0cfu/100ml respectively for 30 minutes and 24 hours treatment while unimproved/shallow sources such as wells show ≤120 cfu/100ml and ≤53 cfu/100ml respectively for 30 minutes and 24 hour interval. A significant difference between treated samples and the untreated was observed (F = 6.321, P = 0.005). Tukey multiple comparison test revealed that MPN index/100ml in the water samples was significantly lower (P =0.015, P =0.009) after treating for 30 minutes and 24 hour time interval respectively as compared to untreated water. But there was no significant difference between the 30 minute and 24 hour time interval (P =0.970). The study found that, drinking water sources in Makurdi Township were heavily contaminated, and that 30 minutes and 24 hours’ time interval was not a sufficient time for total elimination of bacteria contaminants after treatment with WaterCare. Future research should ascertain the actual treatment time for inactivation of all bacteria in water treated with WaterCare.