Effect of water salinity and hydrotimetric titer of water sources used for consumption in the commune of Ouinhi in Benin (West Africa)

Despite the availability of Improved Water Sources (IWS), the population of Ouinhi in Benin still consumes surface water. Which is a major public health problem. The present study aims to identify the physicochemical and microbiological parameters, the cause of the population's rejection of the consumption of water from boreholes and other water supply works. To do this, a simple random selection of twenty water sources was made for microbiological and physico-chemical analysis. The results showed that the salinity (1 mg/L) of IWS was found to be 2.5 times higher than that of Unimproved Water Sources (UWS). Similarly, Total Dissolved Solids (173.4 and 218.4 ppm), calcium content (2.753 and 2.007 mg/L) and magnesium hardness (2.4 and 1.253 mg/L) were on average 1.6 times higher in improved than in UWS. Analysis also show that all water sources were contaminated with total coliforms, thermotolerant coliforms, fecal enterococci, E. coli and S. aureus in all samples from the two districts of Dasso and Tohouè. This situation contributes to the frequency of hydrofecal diseases, and is a factor to be considered in awareness campaigns.