Physicochemical and mycological quality of a drinking water

Abstract

A total of 98 drinking water samples were collected during a seven-month investigation from Omuihuechi stream near Port Harcourt, Nigeria. The water samples were analyzed for physicochemical parameters and mycoflora to determine the water quality. The mean values of temperature, pH, dissolved oxygen (DO) and biological oxygen demand (BOD5), transparency, total organic carbon, chloride, sulphate and phosphate were 25.2°C, 5.1, 8.4mg/L, 6.4mgL, 189.0cm, 13.0mg/L, 4.0mg/L, 7.8mg/L, and 0.24mg/L respectively. Among the seven heavy metals detected in the water samples, cadmium and lead concentrations were higher than the WHO guidelines for drinking water. The mean value of total fungal count was 11.3 x 102 cfu/mL and the fungal genera isolated were; Aspergillus, Byssochlamys, Candida, Cephalosporium, Cladosporium, Fusarium, Mucor, Penicillium, Rhizopus, Saccharomyces, Sporobolomyces, and Trichoderma. Presence of heavy metals and fungal genera which contain potential pathogenic species indicate that the water of Omuihuechi stream is not safe for drinking and for other domestic purposes