Comparative analysis of bacterial contamination in tap and groundwater: A case study on water quality of Quetta City, an arid zone in Pakistan
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Abstract: Water is an essential element on earth, which provides human a variety of services in domestic use, agriculture, or industries. However, some serious health risks of drinking water are associated with microbial contamination, particularly with fecal matter. Therefore, microbial quality assessment is considered to be a necessary component of water quality assessment. This study investigates microbial contamination of water distributary system around the city by comparing groundwater (GW) and tap water (TW) quality in Quetta city. 31 GW samples and 31 TW samples were collected in the study area during the months of September, October, and November. Fecal coliform test was carried out in laboratory and their average total coliform contamination was computed. Results showed that the TW sample were all contaminated by coliform except for Chiltan town, hence are not considered suitable for drinking without any treatment according to WHO drinking water quality standards. The average coliform concentrations were 12 in Quetta main city, 11.6 in Jinnah town, 5.3 in Satallite town, 10 in Shahbaz town and 5 in Brewery town (0/100 mL CFU) and the TW samples from the three towns were even more contaminated with E.coli. Whereas among the GW, average microbial concentrations were 1.8 in Quetta main city, 2 in Satallite town, 1.4 in Shahbaz town, and 0.4 in Chiltan town (0/100 mL CFU), respectively, which shows that the contamination is occurring within the water distributary pipeline system when the water flows through the pipelines. Moreover, this research will be valuable for researchers and administrative authorities to conduct elaborative studies, and develop new policies to prevent further deterioration of drinking water in the water distribution system by pathogenic microorganisms and ensure safe drinking water to the public of Quetta city.
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Table 1. Bacterial contamination in TW and GW
Sr#. Name of scheme TW GW E.Coli Coliform Total Coliform E.Coli Coliform Total Coliform CFU/mL CFU/mL CFU/mL CFU/mL CFU/mL CFU/mL 0/100 mL 0/100 mL 0/100 mL 0/100 mL 0/100 mL 0/100 mL 1 Brewery town 0 12 12 0 0 0 2 0 8 8 0 0 0 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 4 0 0 0 0 0 0 5 Jinnah town 0 12 12 0 0 0 6 0 0 0 0 0 0 7 0 8 8 0 0 0 8 12 26 38 0 0 0 9 0 0 0 0 0 0 10 Shahbaz town 0 0 0 0 0 0 11 0 16 16 0 4 4 12 0 0 0 0 3 3 13 8 26 34 0 0 0 14 0 0 0 0 0 0 15 Quetta main city 0 14 14 0 0 0 16 0 12 12 0 7 7 17 0 6 6 0 0 0 18 0 14 14 0 0 0 19 0 12 12 0 4 4 20 14 18 32 0 0 0 21 0 8 8 0 0 0 22 0 6 6 0 0 0 23 0 4 4 0 0 0 24 Satallite town 0 0 0 0 6 6 25 0 0 0 0 0 0 26 0 16 16 0 0 0 27 Chiltan town 0 0 0 0 0 0 28 0 0 0 0 2 2 29 0 0 0 0 0 0 30 0 0 0 0 0 0 31 0 0 0 0 0 0 Table 2. Physiochemical parameters and microbes in TW
TW GW Mean Std. Deviation Mean Std. Deviation pH 7.89 0.24 7.37 0.20 EC (µS/cm) 718.71 314.39 580.96 132.56 Turbidity (NTU) 5.15 8.30 2.48 0.58 TDS (mg/L) 439.45 194.58 474.61 151.63 E.coli 1.10 3.49 1.64 1.53 Coliform 7.03 7.96 1.64 1.53 Total coliform 8.13 10.54 7.37 0.20 Table 3. Pearson Correlation of physiochemical parameters with Total Coliform in TW
pH EC Turbidity TDS E.coli Coliform Total coliform pH Pearson correlation 1 −0.099 −0.079 −0.102 −0.129 −0.080 −0.103 Sig. (2- tailed) 0.596 0.672 0.584 0.487 0.669 0.580 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 EC Pearson correlation −0.099 1 0.101 0.997** 0.438* 0.360* 0.417* Sig. (2- tailed) 0.596 0.589 0.000 0.014 0.047 0.020 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 Turbidity Pearson correlation −0.079 0.101 1 0.110 0.821** 0.591** 0.718** Sig. (2- tailed) 0.672 0.589 0.556 0.000 0.000 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 TDS Pearson correlation −0.102 0.997** 0.110 1 0.428* 0.346 0.403* Sig. (2- tailed) 0.584 0.000 0.556 0.016 0.057 0.025 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 E.coli Pearson correlation −0.129 0.438* 0.821** 0.428* 1 638** 0.813** Sig. (2- tailed) 0.487 0.014 0.000 0.016 0.000 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 Coliform Pearson correlation −0.080 0.360* 0.591** 0.346 0.638** 1 0.967** Sig. (2- tailed) 0.669 0.047 0.000 0.057 0.000 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 Total coliform Pearson correlation −0.103 0.417* 0.718** 0.403* 0.813** 0.967** 1 Sig. (2- tailed) 0.580 0.020 0.000 0.025 0.000 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 31 Notes: **Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed)
*Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed)Table 4. Physiochemical Water Quality Analysis of TW and GW
Sr#. Name of scheme TW GW pH EC Turbidity TDS pH EC Turbidity TDS - µS/cm NTU mg/L - µS/cm NTU mg/L 6.5–8.5 - 5 1000 6.5–8.5 - 5 1000 1 Brewery Town 8.2 730 2.4 443 7.62 1178 3.1 753 2 7.8 726 1.9 442 7.68 575 2.6 666 3 8.0 787 2.1 482 7.54 685 1.8 423 4 7.82 520 2.1 309 7.32 433 3.1 565 5 Jinnah Town 7.5 1343 2.6 872 7.5 522 2.9 675 6 7.9 998 3.6 600 7.39 674 1.8 431 7 7.8 890 2 531 7.29 528 2.6 484 8 7.8 1 942 8.9 1159 7.45 573 3.5 314 9 7.99 896 2.6 574 7.32 493 2.1 566 10 Shahbaz Town 7.6 543 1.6 327 7.56 555 1.6 287 11 7.8 777 14.6 469 7.26 498 2.6 318 12 7.5 500 1.2 296 7.24 500 1.8 289 13 7.6 562 26.8 333 7.35 575 2.3 415 14 8.1 592 1.6 351 7.65 587 2.6 498 15 Quetta Main city 8.2 435 4.2 262 7.15 512 1.8 555 16 8.0 940 1.8 564 7.2 422 1.8 269 17 7.9 686 1.9 413 7.14 485 3.1 384 18 7.6 534 2.2 324 7.25 512 2.9 396 19 7.9 603 5.6 367 7.34 576 2.6 483 20 7.9 792 40.6 507 7.23 587 3.5 666 21 8.26 460 7.6 286 7.12 432 2.6 789 22 8.1 405 2.2 239 7.16 522 1.8 724 23 7.9 450 1.4 266 7.12 595 3.5 381 24 Satallite Town 8.2 1025 4.6 656 7.38 678 2.1 277 25 7.9 731 3 454 7.54 674 1.6 532 26 8.1 625 2.6 390 7.12 566 1.8 354 27 Chiltan Town 8.1 840 1.6 509 7.14 589 2.3 655 28 7.8 410 2 248 7.81 651 2.6 417 29 8.2 424 1.4 257 7.65 655 3.1 345 30 8.0 542 1.4 333 7.72 623 2.9 389 31 7.2 572 1.6 360 7.38 555 2.6 413 Table 5. Pearson Correlation of physiochemical parameters with total coliform in GW
pH EC turbidity TDS Coliform Total coliform pH Pearson Correlation 1 0.487** 0.094 −0.051 −0.139 −0.139 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.005 0.615 0.787 0.455 0.455 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 EC Pearson Correlation 0.487** 1 0.117 0.182 −0.135 −0.135 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.005 0.530 0.327 0.470 0.470 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 Turbidity Pearson Correlation 0.094 0.117 1 0.148 −0.241 −0.241 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.615 0.530 0.427 0.191 0.191 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 TDS Pearson Correlation −0.051 0.182 0.148 1 −0.442* −0.442* Sig. (2-tailed) 0.787 0.327 0.427 0.013 0.013 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 Coliform Pearson Correlation −0.139 −0.135 −0.241 −0.442* 1 1.000** Sig. (2-tailed) 0.455 0.470 0.191 0.013 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 Total coliform Pearson Correlation −0.139 −0.135 −0.241 −0.442* 1.000** 1 Sig. (2-tailed) 0.455 0.470 0.191 0.013 0.000 N 31 31 31 31 31 31 Notes: **. Correlation is significant at the 0.01 level (2-tailed).
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed). -
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