Analysis of spring water quality in Ebonyi South Zone and its health impact

Studies were carried out between June through December, 2007 to evaluate the quality of rural water supply for drinking in Ebonyi South Zone of Ebonyi State, Nigeria. The rural communities of Ekoli Edda and Ozizza in Afikpo South L.G.A and parts of Okposi in Ohaozara L.G.A depend solely on spring water for their domestic needs. Samples from seven spring water sources in these areas were analyzed for some physico-chemical and microbial parameters by standard methods. Concentrations of some heavy metals; Cr, Cd, Co, Cu, Fe, Mn, Pb, Ni and Zn were determined using Atomic Absorption Spectrophotometer. The results of the chemical analysis compared favourably with the WHO standard for drinking water, except for the relatively high concentration of iron in samples SE 5 (0.79 mg/L) and SE 6 (0.58 mg/L), and the exceedingly high phosphate concentrations, ranging from 0.25 - 1.6mg/L in all the samples as against the WHO permissible limit of 0.1mg/L. The bacteriological analyses however revealed about 40% total coliform bacteria contamination, varying between 0 - 4 MPN/100 ml of water in five out of the seven samples tested. The mean total hardness ranged from 8 - 26 mgCaCO3 /L indicating that the water is soft. The pH ranged from 4.2 - 5.6 and 4.5 - 6.0 at the rainy and dry seasons respectively, with an average pH of 5.1 + 0.48 during the rainy seasons and 5.6 + 0.58 at the dry seasons. This study provides baseline information on the spring water situation in Ebonyi South and suggested an alternative method of harnessing the natural water.