Quality Assessment of Well Water from some Private Households in Fabian Hotels Area of Ado Ekiti (Ekiti State, Nigeria) Metropolis

Abstract

Water is indispensible and one of the most abundant renewable natural resources. Without water, biological life may not survive.This study investigated some physicochemical, microbial and elemental properties of water from hand dug, ringed and covered water wells in Ten (10) different private households at Fabian hotels area of Ado Ekiti, Ekiti State, Nigeria. The water samples were analysed for pH, water hardness, total solids, ammonia nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, total bacteria count, coliform count and some mineral elements.

pH of the well water samples ranged from 6.8-7.2 while the temperature was 25-27⁰C. The samples odour and taste were unobjectionable while the colour was 5.0 NTU. Dissolved oxygen was 129-143 mg/l, total solids 146-216 mg/l. Total alkalinity was 07-21 mg/l and chloride content was 54– 98 mg/l. Ammoniacal nitrogen was not detected in the water samples and total acidity was 12-21 mg/l.

Results of microbial analysis indicated that there was no gas producing organism in any of the water samples, coliform bacteria was not detected, while total plate count ranged between 2-4 cfu/ml.

Elemental analysis showed that lead, chromium, cadmium, mercury, nickel, arsenic and copper were not detected in any the water samples. Zinc ranged from 0.1-1.2 ppm, calcium ranged between 68-86 ppm while magnesium was between 34- 68 ppm.

These results imply that these water samples were within WHO minimum standards for potable water, hence, they can be used for domestic or other applications.