Quality assessment of sources of portable water in oghara community, ethiope west local government area of delta state

This research investigated the quality of portable water sources in Oghara Community, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State. Three portable water samples- borehole, well and surface (river) were sampled from Oghara Community, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State and physiochemical, microbiological and heavy metal analyses were investigated using titrimetric, spectrophotometric, serial dilution and chromatographic methods respectively. The results revealed that all the physicochemical parameters were below WHO and FMENV standards except temperature (28.20C) in surface water, The presence of TCC and THB in all the water sources with Salmonella sp.(1.8 x 102 cfu ml-1 ), Shigella sp.( 3.8 x 102 cfu ml-1 ),  Vibrio cholera (0.2 x 102 cfu ml-1), and E. coli (2.1 x 102 cfu ml-1), found in surface water and only Salmonella sp and E. coli were found in borehole and well water sources. Surface water had the highest levels of all the microorganisms detected. Concentrations of Cu, Cr and Ni in all the three sources of water were higher than WHO and FMENV recommended values while Cd, Lead, mercury and Zn were below WHO and FMENV values with surface water having the highest concentrations for all the metals investigated. Quality Assessment of sources of portable water in Oghara Community, Ethiope West Local Government Area of Delta State, showed that all the water sources under investigation were contaminated with microorganisms and heavy metals above WHO and FMENV standards with surface water showing the highest level of contamination hence unfit for consumption and could exhibit health hazard.