Assessment of Physicochemical and Microbial Suitability of Some Selected Surface Water around Ile?Ife Southwest Nigeria for Irrigation

Abstract

This study investigated the physicochemical parameters as well as the microbial quality of certain water bodies used for irrigation purposes in Ife East and Ife Central Local Government Areas of Osun State, Nigeria. Physicochemical parameters of samples were measured following standard methods. The identity and population of autochthonous bacteria were determined using standard microbiological methods between November 2018 and March 2019. The physicochemical parameters assessed in the irrigation water samples revealed that pH values of irrigation water sampled falls between 7.06 ± 0.08–8.40 ± 0.12, mean value of Total Dissolved Solid (TDS) ranges between 104.00 ± 1.41 and 461.3 ± 1.78 ppm while temperature was around 31.83 ± 0.51°C. Turbidity of the irrigation water sampled exceeded the recommended (˂5 NTU) range. Heterotrophic plate count, Total Coliform and Feacal Coliform count were found to be relatively high (2.80 ± 0.04–7.28 ± 0.28 Log10 cfu/ml) and no significant difference (p-values˃0.05) was observed in their mean values. A total of 12-13 bacteria species were found in Ife Central and Ife East respectively. These bacteria include Aeromonas sp, Aeromonas hydrophilla Citrobacter sp, E coli; Enterococcus sp, Klebsiella sp, Proteus sp, Pseudomonas sp, Salmonella sp, Serratia sp, Shigella sp, Staphylococcus sp and Vibrio sp. This study concludes that pH and TDS were within the acceptable limits while temperature exceeded the standard in some months. The presence of pathogenic bacteria suggests that irrigation water could be a major source of transmission of waterborne diseases and consequently detrimental to human health.