HEALTH RISKS LINKED TO THE CONSUMPTION OF WATER FROM SHALLOW AQUIFERS IN THE CITY OF DALOA (CENTRAL-WESTERN IVORY COAST)

The water provided by the public network in the city ofDaloa is rejected by residents because of the disagreeable organoleptic characteristics. This situation has pushed a large, proportion of the population to exploit the water from resurgent springs and traditional wells. However, these waters tap into alterite aquifers, which are the first reservoir to receive seepage water that is often highly laden with impurities. As a result, these waters could be contaminated by domestic and industrial effluents, deteriorating their quality and impacting consumer health. Hence the need to evaluate the health risk from these waters. To this end, seasonal analyses of physico-chemical parameters on 40 waters points have been carried out. Methodological approach consisted of using the water quality index and the probabilistic risk method. As a result, these waters are rich in heavy metals whatever the season, and the quality varies from very poor to good for wells and from poor to good for springs. Thus, the chromium VI-related health risk for these waters in both seasons has a hazard quotient greater than 1. The level of carcinogenic risk is also very high, with a value greater than 10-4. People are therefore exposed to gastrointestinal risks and can contract cancer when they consume untreated well and spring water.