Bacteriological and Physico-Chemical Quality of Household Drinking Water in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya
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Date
2021
Authors
Ondieki, J.K
Akunga, D.N
Warutere, P.N
Kenyanya, Omanga
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Elsevier
Abstract
Water is a basic human need which is required in many operations especially in households. However, this
essential commodity in most cases does not meet the generally accepted safety standards. The study was designed
to investigate the physico-chemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water used in households in Kisii town,
Kenya. Analytical cross-sectional study was conducted to obtain information concerning household drinking
water quality and safety. Stratified random sampling was used to obtain 422 drinking water samples at the point
of consumption from the 4 zones of Kisii town for analysis. From the study it was revealed that TDS and electrical
conductivity of the analyzed water samples were within the recommended standards of less than 1000 ppm and
1500 μSCM 1 respectively. Further, it was found that 69.4% of the samples had pH range of between 6.5-8.5,
91.9% had turbidity of less than 5NTU, 3.8% had temperature below 15 C and 31.2% of the chlorinated samples had chlorine residue above 0.2 ppm. In terms of bacteriological analysis, 39.3% of the samples were
contaminated with total coliforms and 17.5% with E. coli. The main finding from the study was that the household
water samples were contaminated with bacteria and unfit for human consumption because both total coliforms
and E. coli exceeded the recommended Kenya Bureau of Standards (KEBS) and WHO standards. Therefore, public
health officers should not only collect water samples from sources but also from households regularly to ascertain
its quality and provide water safety promotion education to the general public. There was a strong relationship
between bacterial contamination and temperature as well as chlorine residue. The study recommends Gusii Water
and Sanitation Company (GWASCO) whose treatment and distribution capacity is expected to increase 4.5 times
the current capacity to improve on their chlorine dosage at the treatment plant to ensure a minimum chlorine
residue of 0.2 ppm at the household and community taps.
Description
Article
Keywords
Safe water Contamination, Physico-chemical, Bacteriological Household
Citation
Ondieki, J. K., Akunga, D. N., Warutere, P. N., & Kenyanya, O. (2021). Bacteriological and physico-chemical quality of household drinking water in Kisii Town, Kisii County, Kenya. Heliyon, 7(5), e06937.