BACTERIOLOGICAL ANALYSIS OF WELL WATER IN KOREY VILLAGE, ZARIA, NIGERIA

Bacteriological analysis of well water in Korey village, Nigeria, was necessitated as a result of the fact that well water is fast gaining prominence as an alternative source of drinking water in Korey village, Zaria. Eighteen wells water samples were analyzed using standard microbiological methods. A total of one hundred and thirty four (134) isolates of E. coli (50.75%), E. aerogenes (31.34%) and E. cloacae (17.91%) were isolated from the sampled wells. Our findings showed that all the wells were contaminated with coliform organisms. Wells 1 and 2 had the highest counts of 2400 MPN/100 mls and wells 6, 14 and 17 had the lowest counts of 110 MPN/100 mls per water samples. The mean count was 432.2 MPN/100 mls of water samples. This indicates that the wells in Korey village had a high number of coliform organisms. All the wells sampled were 100% contaminated with E. coli, 66.7% for E. aerogenes and 22.2% E. cloacae. It was observed that wells from Korey village contained indicator organisms like E. coli and E. aerogenes at high levels which exceed the World Health Organization standard of zero (0) MPN/100 mls of water sample. It showed that drinking water from these wells could lead to serious health hazards. Hence, immediate intervention, treatment, sanitation are recommended to reduce the water born disease.