Evaluating the Potability of Bonganema, Foya Wulleh, and Kawela Streams Used for Drinking and Agricultural Irrigation in the Kori Chiefdom, Moyamba Districts, Southern Sierra Leone

This research examines the physical, chemical and microbial parameters of Bonganema, Foya Wulleh, and Kawela Streams used for drinking and agricultural irrigation. These three streams (Bonganema, Foya Wulleh, and Kawela Streams) are situated along the Taiama-Njala University highway, in the Kori Chiefdom, Moyamba district, southern province of Sierra Leone. These three streams are used by the locals of the various communities for drinking and agricultural activities. The quality of water is affected by different environmental dynamics such as pH, temperature, opacity or turbidity, amount of nutrients, hardness, alkalinity and the amount of oxygen present in water (Edori, 2020). The physical parameters include: Turbidity, pH, Electrical Conductivity (EC), Temperature, Total Dissolved Solid (TDS); chemical parameters include Sodium (Na), Magnesium (Mg), Calcium (Ca), Iron (Fe), Zinc (Zn) and Copper (Cu) and, the microbial parameters include Faecal coliform, and Non-faecal coliform. Water samples were collected at the respected streams for three months (April, May, and June), at the start of every month (1st of every month). Water samples collected from the three streams were conveyed at the Environmental Management and Quality Control (EMQC) Laboratory, at Njala campus, Njala University, Sierra Leone within 30min of collection time. Result of the physical analysis were found to be within the standard limits set out by World Health Organisation, however, the pH and turbidity of the threes streams; (Bonganema pH 5.73,Turb.7.27; Foya Wulleh pH 5.44, Turb. 12.33; Kawela pH5.81, Turb. 7.11) were found to beoutside the World Health Organisation bracket, the chemical parameter of two of the streams (Bonganema Fe 1.29; Foya Wulleh Fe2.01)recorded high concentration of Iron that far exceed the WHO bracket of Fe in the drinking water, however, the other chemical parameters of all the streams were found to be in conformity with the WHO standards. The microbial parameters of the three streams showed high concentration ofFaecal coliform (Bonganema,13.17; Foya Wulleh, 24.03; Kawela, 10.63) that fell outside the WHO standards, However, there was low concentration of Non-Faecal coliform (Bonganema, 5.97; Foya Wulleh, 5.00; Kawela, 6.97) in all the samples analysed that were within the WHO standards. It can be said that the water sample analysed for the three streams recorded high concentration of pH, Turbidity, Faecal Coliform, and Iron, except Kawela that recorded low concentration of Iron (Fe, 0.03) that is within WHO standards. It can therefore be concluded that water from three streams (Bonganema, Foya Wulleh, and Kawela Streams) are not potable and, therefore not fit for human consumption and agricultural irrigation.