期刊名称：Journal of Environmental Science and Water Resources
印刷版ISSN：2277-0704
出版年度：2012
卷号：1
期号：2
页码：27-33
出版社：Wudpecker Journals
摘要：Kitui town, a small but fast growing town in arid south - eastern Kenya faces unreliable water supply and residents are highly dependent on shallow wells as the main source of water for domestic use. A study was carried out to assess the physical - chemical and bac teriological quality of water from shallow wells within the town's main residential areas. 96 water samples were collected from 8 main residential estates within the town between May and July 2011 and analysed for physical - chemical characteristics and bact erial quantity and species. Water analysis revealed presence of 9 pathogenic genera including Salmonella, Escherichia coli, Vibrio, Listeria, Staphylococcus, Streptococcus, Enterobacter, Klebsiella and Pseudomonas . Multiple - tube fermentation technique was used to enumerate coliform bacteria in water. Total aerobic bacterial load ranged from 3.70 x10 2 to 2.352 x10 3 CFU/ml. E. Coli was isolated from Majengo and Mjini estates only and the bacterial load estimated as 1.10 x10 2 CFU/ml and 0.20 x10 2 CFU/ml resp ectively while Salmonella sp. was isolated from water samples from Kunda Kindu, JICA and Mjini estates. Conductivity and pH levels were above World Health Organization acceptable levels for drinking water in all samples. All samples tested did not meet the WHO bacteriological standards for drinking water. The presence of Salmonella, Vibrio, Listeria and E. Coli should particularly raise serious public health concerns over the quality of the town's shallow wells water. Intervention measures including creati ng awareness and educating residents on shallow well construction, citing and care, boiling of water and improving sanitation should be urgently instituted. There is also need to construct sewerage works for the rapidly expanding Kitui town to reduce inci dences of contamination from septic tanks
关键词：Kenya; Kitui town; shallow wells; water quality; bacteriology; physico-chemical characteristics
