Variation in the Sources of Drinking Water in Idah and their Suitability on the Health of the Consumers

Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This Research Project was designed to analyse the variation in the sources of drinking water and how they affect the consumer’s health in Idah. Water samples were collected from the various sources (Groundwater, River, Rain and Packaged water) of water and were subjected to laboratory analysis to detect the water parameters. One-way Analysis of Variance was employed to analyse the result of the laboratory test in order to determine the relationship between the water sample parameters for both wet and dry seasons. Correlation Analysis was also adopted to analyse the quality of the drinking water and the possible health problems that could emanate from the water sources. The analysis of variance carried out showed that there was no significant difference (p>0.05, d=0.40) between the BOD and COD for the water samples tested. Alkalinity was also found insignificant at 0.05 significant levels since the calculated F-value is 0.008. The coefficient of determinant (r2 = 0.74) indicated 74% dependence of water-related disease on water sources. This helped to determine which amongst the various water sources is responsible for causing the possible health problems that were detected in the research; typhoid, diarrhoea, cholera, dysentery, gastroenteritis and vomiting. The result revealed the relationship among the different water-related diseases and the human activities as well as the environmental management system and their impact on water quality in the study area. The project however pinpointed the safety of the drinking water and the need for water to undergo scrutiny (test) the source notwithstanding at a prescribed interval (three months) and periodic monitoring (six months) to ensure proper hygiene and environmental management.