*Analysis of Ground Water from Selected Sources in Jalingo Metropolis, Nigeria DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.99082*

health threat to consumers, they may abhor it due to its color, odor, or taste [10]. Physical parameters include color, smell, temperature, pH, turbidity etc. There are myriad of chemical substances which may be naturally present or introduced (even chemicals used for water treatment) into water; those that are naturally present seldom pose risk to health. However, chemicals released due to anthropogenic activities (fertilizer, pesticides, herbicides, industrial effluents and byproducts etc.) carry more health risk to consumers.

Fortunately, whether chemical naturally present or introduced into water, there are maximum allowable concentration (limit) of most of them proposed by World Health Organization (WHO), which serves as guide. Some of the chemical substances include residual chlorine (RC), Iron (Fe), Fluoride (Fl), Nitrate/Nitrite, Lead (Pb), Mercury (Hg) [10, 11].

Bacteriological (microbial) parameter is used to assess drinking water quality using the index /indicator concept as advocated by Waite (1991, cited in [5]). The infectious risks associated with drinking water are primarily those posed by fecal pollution and their control depends on being able to assess the risk from any water source and applying suitable treatment to eliminate the risk. Rather than trying to detect the presence of pathogens at which time the consumer is being exposed to possible infection, it is better practice to look for organisms, while not pathogenic themselves, that show the presence of fecal pollution and therefore the potential for the presence of pathogens. For this reason, *E. coli* (*E.coli*) is universally used as an indicator organism to assess water treatment and widely preferred as index organism for fecal contamination. Thermo-tolerant coliform count (Fecal coliform) is acceptable where *E. coli* detection is not possible [10].

The presence of other microbes may indicate fecal contamination as well e.g. fecal streptococci indicate recent contamination of water sources with feces. While planet earth is made up of predominantly water, only 3% is fresh water, and of this, 99% is trapped in icecaps and glaciers. Even the 1% of the fresh water available for human use is not evenly distributed [11]. According to WHO and UNICEF report [7], safe water which is a basic necessity is still a luxury for many poor developing countries of the world today. It has been estimated that over 1.1 billion people do not have access to drinking water from improved sources. Eighty percent of the unserved populations live in these three regions – Sub-Saharan Africa, Eastern Asia and Southern Asia. Eighty- four percent of these people are the rural dwellers.

In 2004, 83% of the world population (5.3 billion) had access to drinking water from improved sources. This seemingly high global statistics hide a critical situation in some developing countries. In sub-Saharan Africa and Oceania only 54% and 50% of their populations respectively are served with improved sources of drinking water in 2004. Whereas at the same period, the population that had access to water from improved sources is over 90% in the Caribbean, Northern Africa and Western Asia [12].

Although over 80% of the developing world population has access to some type of improved drinking water source, only 44% have access through household connection from piped system. There are large disparities between regions. While access to drinking water through household connection is as low as 16% in Sub-Saharan Africa, 20% in South-Eastern and 21% in Oceania; it is much higher in Eastern Asia 70%, Northern Africa 76%, and 80% in Latin America and the Caribbean [12].

Jalingo metropolis, which is located in sub-Saharan Africa, has no official record of households' connection to water, but with the heavy dependence on ground water, it is evident that there is little or no connection to improved drinking water within the study area. This necessitated the current study on physicochemical properties of ground water from multiple sources in Jalingo metropolis.

Jalingo as an urban centre is confronted with the challenges of poor waste management system and fast urban sprawl that is evident within the township. Indiscriminate waste disposal coupled with bad land practices are common scenes in the metropolis. These unguided practices according to Ndabula & Jidauna [13] and Dabi Jidauna [3] can easily pollute surface water, and consequently degrading of the water quality. The residents of Jalingo Metropolis depend on both surface and ground water sources for their different water uses. The most dependable sources observed include tap water from the water board, water vendors, wells, and6sometimes riverbed are used as sources of water supply. These sources are often prone to pollutants that are categorized as heavy metals that are often associated to human activities and further exacerbated by urban sprawling and poor waste management [4]. Therefore, the need to access a reliable, secure, safe, and sufficient source of fresh water is a fundamental requirement for the survival, well-being, and socio-economic development of all humanity [14]. Hence, the desire and the need for portable water supply cannot be over emphasized. Irrespective of sources, domestic water supply should be water of high quality, while water for other uses can be of moderate quality. Moreover, most people in the urban centers often depend on the water vendors for domestic water supply, and in many cases, the water accessed is used directly without treatment. Drinking water is water of highest quality, while water of good quality can be put into any other use [2].

There has been heavy investment in terms of pipe borne or tap water in order to increase access of residents to quality water for drinking and domestic uses, yet it is no news that the residents of Jalingo have no access to quality drinking water especially as the sources are diverse. Thus, this study analyzed the physicochemical properties of ground water from different sources within the metropolis, hence to create awareness towards developing a strategy for monitoring and protecting groundwater quality of the area.
