Microbiological Quality and the Prevalence of Escherichia Coli in Potable Water in Iruekpen, Esan West Local Government Area, Ekpoma Edo State, Nigeria.

Water is the most vital element among the natural resources and the most indispensable need for existence of all living things. This study was carried out to ascertain the microbiological quality and the prevalence of Escherichia coli in potable water in Iruekpen Esan West Local Government Area, Ekpoma, Edo State, Nigeria. From the results of this research, the mean total heterotrophic bacterial counts of various potable water samples are presented in table 3, it ranged from 4.0x103 cfu/ml to 7.5x105 cfu/ml. It was observed that sample 7 had the highest bacteria count (7.5x105 cfu/ml) and sample 2 had the lowest bacteria count with (4.0x103 cfu/ml). The distribution of the organisms in the various water sample gotten from Iruekpen were shown in table 4. The table shows that Escherichia coli was present in all water samples. The cultural, morphological and biochemical characteristics of bacteria from the various water samples gotten from Iruekpen were shown in table 5. The isolates identified were, Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus spp and Streptococcus faecalis. The presence of faecal coliform bacteria in water is indicative of contamination by faecal material and is therefore considered indicative of a health risk, because many enteric pathogens are present in faeces. Furthermore, the significance of the coliform group density has long been established as an indication of the degree of pollution and thus the microbiological quality of water.