**Abstract**

Water from boreholes and packaged commercial sachet water from different areas in a community in southern Nigeria was analyzed with membrane filtration for a snapshot of heterotrophic count and coliforms. Two boreholes out of the 20 analyzed had counts of over 500 Cfu/mL and 7 boreholes indicated the presence of coliforms. Sixteen samples out of 20 sachet water brands analyzed showed a regulatory product registration code, whereas 4 samples had no number or code indicating that they were not registered. The heterotrophic count of all sachet water was well within the limit for all samples analyzed, and coliform was detected in only two samples. The overall quality of borehole water in the community studied was rated D (65%), whereas the sachet water was rated C (90%) according to the World Health Organization (WHO) surveillance guidelines. Improvements in water quality structure in the community studied are required to help achieve WHO sustainable development goals on water sanitation. The etiology, virulence properties, epidemiology, and pathogenicity of bacteria associated with borehole and sachet water are also discussed.

**Keywords:** bacteria, borehole, sachet water, coliforms, heterotrophic count

## **1. Introduction**

Up to 2.1 billion people worldwide lack access to safe, readily available water at home according to a WHO/UNICEF report [1]. The report emphasized that majority of the people without good quality water are from developing countries and the lives of millions of children are at risk every day, with many dying from preventable diseases caused by poor water supply. The importance of good quality water is the reason why clean water and sanitation have been included as goal number 6 out of the 17 proposed sustainable development goals (SDGs) of the United Nations [2]. The proposal is that the SDGs will be the blueprint to achieving a better and more sustainable future for humanity by 2030.

In Nigeria, the public water supply is in a state of comatose in most towns and villages and dry taps without any hope of water running through the taps soon affect millions of homes. This has forced individuals and institutions to resort

to self-help by using water from boreholes as the only source of water supply for drinking and general use. Use of borehole is a simple way of obtaining potable water from the aquifer below the ground, after which the water can be pumped into storage tanks before distribution.

Many people that went into borehole drilling business, which reduced the price of new boreholes, aided the proliferation of boreholes in Nigeria, and many citizens were ready to pay more money in rent for houses, which had boreholes. Furthermore, the dependence on groundwater, which is believed to be purified, is on the increase due to the increasing contamination of the surface water [3]. It is known that properly designed and constructed borehole both ensures the success of the borehole as an adequate supply of water and minimizes the risk of local pollution affecting the source [4]. If a borehole facility is not properly managed, contamination may occur in the process through the accumulation of physical, chemical, and biological agents in the pipelines and storage tanks of a distribution system or water packaging company. One direct use of boreholes is in the production and packaging of drinking water in sachets made from low-density polyethylene sheets. These products are popularly known as "pure water" in Nigeria. From the early 1990s, the production of sachet water increased exponentially and provided jobs for producers and sellers of the product. There is hardly any community in Nigeria without a sachet water facility. It is possibly the most widely consumed commercial liquid in Nigeria, and no sophistication is required for production. The quest for a cheap, readily available, and inexpensive source of potable water contributed to the emergence of sachet water [5], and it is far better and safer than the hand-filled, hand-tied packaged water in polyethylene bag [6] sold in Nigeria in the past. In developing countries, production and consumption of sachet water are rapidly on the rise [7], and many unregulated producers exist.

Packaged drinking water like the sachet water could be water from any potable source such as tap, well, and rain, which may be subjected to further treatments like decantation, filtration, demineralization, remineralization, and other methods to meet established drinking standards [8, 9]. Packaged water is susceptible to microbial and chemical contamination regardless of their source [10]. Researchers have previously performed microbial analysis of sachet water in Nigeria using different laboratory techniques and found different bacteria and fungi. Occurrence of bacteria could lead to different disease conditions such as gastroenteritis, typhoid fever, cholera, bacillary dysentery, and hepatitis [11]. It has been reported [12] that waterborne diseases account for 80% of illnesses and diseases in developing countries, which leads to the death of several children every 8 seconds. In Nigeria, like most developing countries, various factors predispose packaged sachet water to contamination, and these include poor sanitation and source of raw material for food or water production [13]. Long storage of sachet under unfavorable environmental conditions and lack of good manufacturing practices (GMP) in general also contribute to contamination.

It has been found that the microbiome dynamically changes during different stages of water treatment distribution and the main important group in the past and present are fecal-associated bacterial pathogens like *Escherichia coli* [14]. However, opportunistic bacteria like *Legionella* and process-related bacteria, which form biofilms, are also a cause for concern [15, 16]. A review [17] elucidated that drinking water comprises a complex microbiota that is influenced by disinfection and that members of the phylum *Proteobacteria* represent the most frequent bacteria in drinking water. It was also pointed out that their ubiquity has serious implications for human health and that the first step to address the persistent nature of bacteria in water would be to identify and characterize ubiquitous bacteria. The manifestation of bacterial contamination in drinking water can become known when

**217**

**3. Results**

*Bacteriological Quality of Borehole and Sachet Water from a Community in Southeastern Nigeria*

outbreaks occur, and surveillance data provides insights on the microbial etiology of diseases and process failures that facilitated the outbreak [18]. Sometimes it can also be detected from laboratory results especially when water treatment facility is

Water samples from boreholes were collected on different days using Whirl-Pak sampling bags (Nasco, Wisconsin, USA) and analyzed within 2 hours after collection. Twenty private boreholes and 20 different brands of commercial sachet water sold in four areas of a community were analyzed on different days. Sachet water was purchased (five each) from the different areas and were inspected for the inscription of an approved product registration code from the National Agency for Food and Drug Administration and Control (NAFDAC), the Nigerian national regulatory body. It was ensured that the same brand was not purchased twice from one area. The human population of the community (all 4 areas) was estimated to be over

Heterotrophic plate and total coliform count of bacteria were carried out using standard membrane filtration performed previously [21]. A slight modification of the method was introduced. Instead of using factory-made ready to use nutrient media sets, plate count agar (Oxoid, United Kingdom, CM0325) and violet red bile lactose agar (Oxoid, CM0107) for coliforms were prepared and used according to manufacturer's instructions. Briefly, the filtration process involved placing of 100 ml of water sample in a sterile multibranched stainless steel manifold and filter holder system. A 0.45 μm membrane filter was fitted into the filter system after which water was drawn through to retain bacteria on the membrane. The membrane filter was placed on the media prepared and then incubated at 32°C over 48 h for membrane filters placed on plate count agar, whereas incubation at 30°C for 48 h was used for filters grown on violet red bile lactose agar. The heterotrophic count was noted, and estimated coliform results obtained for boreholes and sachet

water were compared to WHO quality guidelines for drinking water [22].

This survey was carried out to have an overview of the bacterial load in water quality of some boreholes in the community surveyed. The borehole owners were apprehensive and thought they were being investigated for possible closure. To allow sample collection, it was agreed that the name of borehole owners and their location should remain anonymous when the findings were published. Results showed that borehole samples from area "C2" had the highest heterotrophic aerobic count. Two boreholes had counts of over 500 Cfu/mL, which is above the

**3.1 Heterotrophic and total coliform count of borehole samples**

In Nigeria, regulatory oversight is inadequate due to limited resources. Surveillance of bacteria in drinking water from boreholes and sachet water is necessary for the benefit of public health; hence, periodic surveys can help establish trends and identify where water quality of boreholes and sachet water is deficient. This chapter reports a survey, explores reports of bacteria associated with water from borehole and sachet water in Nigeria, and compares data found with WHO water standards. The organisms associated with boreholes and sachet water are

*DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91812*

contaminated by bacterial biofilms [19, 20].

discussed.

**2. Methods**

5000 but less than 100,000.

*Bacteriological Quality of Borehole and Sachet Water from a Community in Southeastern Nigeria DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.5772/intechopen.91812*

outbreaks occur, and surveillance data provides insights on the microbial etiology of diseases and process failures that facilitated the outbreak [18]. Sometimes it can also be detected from laboratory results especially when water treatment facility is contaminated by bacterial biofilms [19, 20].

In Nigeria, regulatory oversight is inadequate due to limited resources. Surveillance of bacteria in drinking water from boreholes and sachet water is necessary for the benefit of public health; hence, periodic surveys can help establish trends and identify where water quality of boreholes and sachet water is deficient. This chapter reports a survey, explores reports of bacteria associated with water from borehole and sachet water in Nigeria, and compares data found with WHO water standards. The organisms associated with boreholes and sachet water are discussed.
