Point-of-Use Water Treatment Methods and the Microbiological Quality of Drinking Water in a Peri-Urban Community of Bonendale, Douala IV, Cameroon

Abstract

Background: The study aimed at assessing the knowledge of Bonendale populations related to safe drinking water; determine the microbiological quality and the household treatment practices of drinking water at the point of use (PoU). Methods: The study was descriptive and cross-sectional, conducted between November 2017 and November 2018 in Bonendale, Douala IV. A systematic random sampling method was used to select 237 households. Results: The main source of drinking water in the study population was dug wells (64.9%). The major activity around the boreholes was agriculture 50% (6/12) while agriculture and livestock rearing were practiced around 34.3% (12/35) and 42.8% (15/35) of dug wells respectively. Nearly half 110 (46.4%) of respondents had a good knowledge of physical properties of drinking water. Fifty-nine water samples out of a total of 60 tested (98.3%) were contaminated by coliform bacteria. Analysis of water samples indicated that 47.6% (10/21) of dug wells, 37.0% (10/27) of Camwater, and 41.2% (5/12) of boreholes had a total coliform count varying between 101-1000 CFU/100mL. And only a single Camwater water sample 1 (137%) had a coliform count of 0 CFU/100mL. Conclusion: These findings indicated the poor microbiological quality of point water used by Bonendale populations representing an important potential health risk of water-borne diseases. The results also reveal that a very high proportion of households treat their PoU before drinking.