Physicochemical and microbiological analysis of water quality of Nworie river in Imo State, Nigeria

Water can be a threat to public health when the chemical constituents or pollutants exceed certain standards or thresholds. To have safe drinking water, there is need for assessment of the water quality and regular monitoring. This study aimed to investigate the physicochemical and microbiological water quality of Nworie river, Imo State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected from two sampled points: upstream point 1 at Egbeada bridge and downstream point 2 at Umezurike hospital of Nworie river. The following Physicochemical parameters [Temperature, pH, DO, Colour, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Biological Oxygen Demand (BOD5) and ammonia concentration (AC)] were measured at the river with their specific meters, while the biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) was measured and microbiological analysis (total bacteria count and total coliform count), carried out in the laboratory with nutrient and MacConkey agars respectively. The result of the mean values of the Physicochemical parameters were measured as follows; Temperature (29.60±0.25 and 29.60±0.36 oC), pH (6.40±0.12 and 6.35±0.24), DO (6.6±0.73 mg/L and 5.35±0.68 mg/L), Colour (82.5±1.46 PCU and 130.50±1.23 PCU), Turbidity (34.49±1.92 NTU and 71.93±1.03 NTU), TDS (66.95±0.56 mg/L and 53.63±0.58(mg/L), TSS (32.55±1.04 mg/L and 63.88±1.09 mg/L), EC (103.00±0.51 µS/cm and 82.50±0.72 µS/cm), BOD5 (2.8±0.94 mg/L and 1.55±1.6) and ammonia (1.43 mg/L and 1.560 mg/L) for Egbeada and Umezurike hospital respectively. The results of the microbiological analysis showed values for both total bacteria count and total coliform count as 8.1×107 cfu/ml and 1.48×108 cfu/ml and 9.8×107 cfu/ml from point 1 and point 2 respectively. Some of the results gotten were above the permissible limits set by the Federal Ministry of Environment (FME). This indicated that the water from the river were unsuitable for drinking, swimming, irrigation or other domestic activities.