ABSTRACT
Some aspects of the physico- chemical characteristics and bacteriological analysis of Ibini Stream were investigated from January to December 2015. Four stations were studied from upstream to downstream using standard methods. A total of fifteen physico-chemical characteristics were examined with the following findings: Air and water temperatures ranged between 25.5oC and 29.6oC and 25.0oC to 29.0oC. The pH and alkalinity values ranged from 5.0 to 7.97 and 8.0mgl-1 to 202mgl-1. Conductivity ranged from 65.1µScm-1 to 422.4µScm-1 and Total dissolved solids from 40mgl-1 to 298mgl-1. Dissolved oxygen ranged from 1.1mgl-1 to 7.8mgl-1 while biochemical oxygen demand ranged from 0.4mgl-1 to 6.5mgl-1. Potassium ranged from 1.0mgl-1 to 9.04mgl-1. Calcium and magnesium ranged from 3.8mgl-1 to 40.1mgl-1 and 40mgl-1 and 298mgl-1. Iron ranged from 0.04mgl-1 to 38.1mgl-1. Copper ranged from 0.01mgl-1 to 1.42mgl-1 while zinc ranged from 0.01mgl-1 to 0.04mgl-1. All the parameters exhibited clear seasonal variations. The statistical analysis of the results of some physicochemical parameters was done using analysis of variance (ANOVA) and Post Hoc Duncan test. ANOVA showed a significant difference (p < 0.01, 0.001) in the values of pH, and BOD5, among the stations. A total of fifteen bacterial species were isolated from the water. These were Enterobacter aerogenes, Proteus vulgaris, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus epidermidis, S. aureus, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Sphaerotilus natans, Erwinia amylovora, Bacillus licheniformis, Shigella dysenteriae, S. sonnei, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Serratia marcescens, Salmonella enteritidis and Yersinia enterocolitica. The total bacterial count of the water of the river ranged from 1.7 x 103 to 2.15 x 104 cfu/ml. The health risks or coliforms in this stream is of serious concern as the water from this river is being used for domestic purposes and recreational activities like swimming while the bank of the river is used for agricultural purpose of planting of vegetables and fruits and in some instances planting of rice in the shallow areas in the river. The biological health risks include gastroenteritis, diarrhea, pneumonia etc resulting from consumption of water from this Stream.
TABLE OF CONTENTS
Title
Page i
Declaration ii
Certification iii
Dedication iv
Acknowledgements v
Table
of Contents vi
List
of Tables ix
List
of Figures x
List
of Plates xi
Abstract xii
CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1
1.1 Background Information 1
1.2 Statement of the Problem 4
1.3 Justification 5
1.4 Aim and Objectives 5
CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW 6
2.1 Physico-Chemistry 6
2.2 Bacteriology 9
CHAPTER
3: MATERIALS AND METHODS 11
3.1 Description of Study Area 11
3.1.1 Sampling
stations 11
3.2 Methods 18
3.2.1 Sterilization
of glassware and other materials 18
3.2.2 Preparation
of culture media 18
3.2.3 Determination
of physicochemical characteristics 18
3.2.4 Physical measurements 18
3.2.4.1
Temperature determination 18
3.2.4.2
pH determination 19
3.2.5 Chemical
measurements 19
3.2.5.1
Total dissolved solids (TDS) determination 19
3.2.5.2 Total hardness determination 19
3.2.5.3 Alkalinity
determination 20
3.2.5.4 Electrical conductivity determination 20
3.2.5.5 Dissolved oxygen determination 20
3.2.5.6
Biological oxygen demand at day 5 (BOD5) 21
3.2.5.7 Potassium determination 21
3.2.5.8
Calcium determination 21
3.2.5.9
Magnesium determination 22
3.2.5.10
Trace and heavy metals 22
3.2.6 Bacteriological analysis 23
3.2.6.1 Test for coliform bacteria 23
3.2.6.1.1
Presumptive coliform test 23
3.2.6.1.2 Confirmatory test 24
3.2.6.1.3 Completed test 24
3.2.6.2 Isolation of bacteria from water 24
3.2.6.3 Purification of bacterial isolates 24
3.2.6.4 Characterization and identification of
bacterial isolates 25
3.2.6.5 Colonial morphology 25
3.2.6.6 Gram staining 25
3.2.6.7 Motility test 25
3.2.6.8 Biochemical tests 26
3.2.6.8.1 Coagulase test 26
3.2.6.9 Characterization and identification of
bacterial isolates 26
3.2.6.10
Statistical analysis treatment of data 26
CHAPTER 4: RESULTS AND DISCUSSION 27
4.1 Results 27
4.1.1 Air temperature 27
4.1.2 Water temperature 27
4.1.3 pH 31
4.1.4 Conductivity 33
4.1.5 Alkalinity 35
4.1.6 Total dissolved solids 37
4.1.7 Total hardness 39
4.1.8 Dissolved oxygen 41
4.1.9 Biological oxygen demand on day 5 (BOD5) 43
4.1.10
Cations 45
4.1.10.1
Calcium 45
4.1.10.2
Magnesium 47
4.1.10.2
Potassium 49
4.1.11 Trace and heavy metals of water samples from
Ibini stream 51
4.1.12
Bacteriological analysis 56
4.1.12.1
Coliform counts 56
4.1.12.2
Identification of bacterial isolates 58
4.1.12.3
Bacterial counts of Ibini stream 58
4.2 Discussion 62
CHAPTER
5: CONCLUSION AND RECOMMENDATIONS 72
5.1
Conclusion 72
5.2 Recommendations 72
References 73
Appendix
LIST OF TABLES
TABLE PAGE
4.1: Summary
of physico-chemical parameters of Ibini stream (with range in
parenthesis) compared with SON, WHO,
EEC & USEPA water
standards 28
4.2: Post hoc (Duncan) results showing
station-station relationship of Ibini
stream
in 2015 55
4.3: Bacterial
frequency distribution of water samples of Ibini stream
(January- December 2015) 59
4.4: Total
bacterial counts of water samples of station points
(January –
December 2015). 61
LIST OF FIGURES
FIGURE PAGE
1: Map of study
area (Ibini stream) 13
2: The
spatial and temporal variations of air temperature in Ibini stream 29
3: Spatial
and temporal variations of water
temperature of Ibini stream 30
4: pH
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 32
5: Conductivity
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 34
6: Alkalinity
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 36
7: TDS
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 38
8: Total
hardness (mg/l) values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 40
9: DO
(mg/l) values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 42
10: BOD5 (mg/l)
values of water samples of Ibini stream
in 2015 44
11: Calcium
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 46
12: Magnesium
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 48
13: Potassium
values of water samples of Ibini stream in 2015 50
14: Copper (mg/l)
values of water samples of Ibini stream
in 2015 52
15: Iron (mg/l)
values of water samples of Ibini stream
in 2015 53
16: Zn (mg/l)
values of water samples of Ibini stream
in 2015 54
17: Most
probable number (MPN) values of water samples Ibini stream in
2015 57
18:
Bacterial frequency distribution of water samples of Ibini stream
(January- December 2015) 60
LIST OF PLATES
PLATE PAGE
1: Station 1 in Ibini stream in Amawom area 14
2: Station 2 in Ibini stream in Amawom area 15
3: Station
3 in Ibini stream in Amawom area 16
4: Station
4 in Ibini stream in Amawom area 17
CHAPTER
1
INTRODUCTION
1.1 BACKGROUND INFORMATION
As the world is ushered
into the modern era of civilization, water and its management will continue to
be a major issue, which will definitely have profound impact on our lives and
that of our planet Earth than before (Goudie, 2013). All living organisms on the earth need water
for their survival and growth. As of now only earth is the planet having about
70% of water (Basavaraja et al., 2011).
According to Julien (2010), society uses water to generate and sustain
economic growth and prosperity, through activities such as farming, commercial
fishing, energy production, manufacturing, transport and tourism while Mohanty
(2006) described water as the Elixir of life and a wonderful gift. Therefore,
it is important to make water available in good quality and quantity, at the
appropriate place and time. Though water covers 3/4th of the planet
earth, the implication is that water is readily available, yet it is one of the
most earth’s prized resources (Talling, 2005). The ensuring of good quality drinking water is
a basic factor in guaranteeing public health, the protection of the environment
and sustainable development (Ranjini et
al., 2010).
Water pollution is of grave
consequence because both terrestrial and aquatic life may be poisoned; it may
cause disease due to the presence of some hazardous substances, may distort the
water quality, add odours and significantly, hinder economic activities (Mason,
2002). Any alteration in the physical, chemical and biological properties of
any water due to discharge of any liquid, gaseous or solid substances that is
likely to create detrimental or injurious effect to aquatic life and
consequently public health, could be termed water pollution (Pandey and Shukla,
2005). Additionally, several human activities that may result to water
pollution include the following, agriculture, irrigation, urbanization, mining,
fire, and industrialization (Goudie, 2013). These activities have been
documented to have impacted negatively in some specified Nigerian surface
waters (Izonfuo and Bariweni, 2001). Amongst the serious environmental problems
are waste accumulation and lack of adequate and safe water supply (Buor, 2003).
In Nigeria, high priority is given to
fresh water resources due to growing concern of the increasing stress on water
supplies caused by poor use patterns affecting both water quality and quantity.
Though water pollution is an old phenomenon, the rate of industrialization and
consequently urbanization has exacerbated its effect on the environment. This
is because, the process of urbanization has considerable hydrological impact
both in terms of controlling rate of erosion, delivery of pollutants to rivers,
and in terms of influencing the nature of runoff and other hydrological
characteristics (Goudie, 2013).
Water quality data include variables
that have significant impact on designated water use such as chemical and
bacteriological characteristics, those affecting the taste and odour and those
with indirect effect (WHO, 2004). Microorganisms are widely distributed in
nature, their composition, abundance and diversity may be used as an indicator
for the suitability of water. The quality of water influence the health status
of any populace, hence, analysis of for physical, biological and chemical
properties including trace element contents are very important for public
health studies (Shalom et al., 2011). The use of bacteria as water
quality indicators can be viewed in two ways, first, the presence of such
bacteria can be taken as an indication of faecal contamination of the water and
thus as a signal to determine why such contamination is present, how serious it
is and what steps can be taken to eliminate it; second, their presence can be
taken as an indication of the potential danger of health risks that faecal
contamination posses (Eze and Chigbu,
2015). A wide range of pathogenic microorganisms can be transmitted to
humans via water contaminated with faecal material. These include
enteropathogenic agents such as salmonellas, shigellas, enteroviruses, and
multicellular parasites as well as opportunistic pathogens like Pseudomonas
sp, Klebsiella and Vibrio spp (Talling, 2005).
The
physical and chemical characteristics of water bodies affect the species
composition, abundance, productivity, and physiological conditions of aquatic
organisms (Talling, 2005). The physico-chemical factor also influences the
distribution and feeding pattern of aquatic organisms (Umeham et al., 2012).
Water
temperature has a double influence on aquatic organisms. Aquatic organisms are
tolerant at certain absolute values and ranges of temperature beyond which they
cannot function. Crillet and Quentin (2006) noted that water temperature
influences the rate of metabolism, spawning and embryo development.
The
effect of pH on the chemical and biological properties of liquids makes its
determination very important. It is one of the most important parameters in
water chemistry and is defined as the negative logarithm of the hydrogen ion (H+)
concentration.
Conductivity
(specific conductance) is the numerical expression of the waters ability to
conduct electric current. According to Umeham & Etusim (2004), conductivity
of water is used to estimate the concentration of dissolved organic matter,
which in turn is related to water fertility.
Transparency
has an opposite correlation with turbidity, rainfall, water level and the
periods of minimum transparency usually correspond with periods of high level
of plankton biomass (Umeham et al.,
2012).
Hard
drinking water may have moderate health benefits, but can pose serious problems
in industrial settings, where water hardness is monitored to avoid costly
breakdowns in boilers, cooling towers, and other equipments that handle water (Kolo, 2007).
Alkalinity is the water’s capacity to
resist changes in pH that would make the water more acidic. Alkalinity of
natural water is as a result of bi-carbonate ions expressed in terms of calcium
carbonate (CaCo3). It is caused by or attributed to the presence of
bi-carbonate, carbonate and hydroxide, less frequently by silicates and
phosphate ions (Umeham and Elekwa, 2005). High alkalinity is good to have in
our drinking water because it keeps the water safe for us to drink. Alkalinity
is basically minerals in the water that help neutralize the water we drink
(Mohanty, 2006).
Dissolve oxygen in water is a very
important parameter in water analysis and it serves as an indicator of
physical, chemical and biological activities of the water body. The two main
sources of dissolve oxygen are diffusion of oxygen from air and photosynthetic
activity. Diffusion of oxygen from air into water depends on the solubility of
oxygen, and is influenced by many factors like water movement, temperature,
salinity, etc. Oxygen is considered to be the major limiting factor in water
bodies with organic materials.
Biochemical
oxygen Demand (BOD) is the amount of oxygen required by micro-organisms for
stabilizing biologically decomposable organic matter (Carbonaceous) in water
under aerobic conditions. The test is used to determine the pollution load of
wastewater, the degree of pollution and the efficiency of wastewater treatment
methods. High levels of Bio-chemical oxygen demand (BOD) indicate the presence
of oxygen demanding wastes (Abowei and George, 2009).
1.2 STATEMENT OF THE PROBLEM
Water
quality has a direct impact on public health. More than 80% of deaths are
caused due to water borne diseases and heavy metals (WHO,
2011). The water supply in Amawom Oboro, Ikwuano
L.G.A is insufficient as per demand to consumers. This is exacerbated due to
the fact that many students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture,
Umudike reside in private hostels in the area. Consequently, people of Amawom have
shown increasing dependence on water from Ibini stream for domestic purposes
like drinking, washing, cooking, bathing, etc.
1.3 JUSTIFICATION
1. This research is justified since it is a
preliminary study; it will serve as a baseline study thereby contributing to
the database of rivers and streams of South Eastern Nigeria.
2. The stream serves good number of
purposes to the citizenry (washing of industrial wares by nearby mechanics,
laundry and other culinary purposes), this research will provide scientific
base for ascertaining the safety of the water usage.
3. Aquatic ecosystems are increasingly
threatened by human population growth and development. Therefore, evaluation of
microbial pollution sources and levels are essential for proper monitoring of
water quality threats.
1.4 AIM AND OBJECTIVES
The
aim of this study is to carry out physico-chemical and bacteriological
assessment of Ibini stream.
The
objectives are:
1.
To evaluate aspects of
the physico-chemistry of Ibini stream and compare with national and
international standards.
2.
To evaluate the seasonal
and anthropogenic effects on the physico-chemistry of Ibini stream.
3.
To evaluate the
composition, distribution and abundance of waterborne bacteria of medical
importance in Ibini stream.
4.
To relate the
physico-chemistry to the bacteriology of Ibini stream.
Click “DOWNLOAD NOW” below to get the complete Projects
FOR QUICK HELP CHAT WITH US NOW!
+(234) 0814 780 1594
Login To Comment