Heavy Metals and Bacteriological Analyses of Water Samples from Hand-Dug Wells in Lafia Metropolis

People on earth are under tremendous threat due to undesired changes in the physical, chemical and biological characteristics of air, water and soil. Due to increased human population, industrialization, agricultural and other man-made activities in Lafia, water bodies, especially hand-dug wells are highly polluted with different harmful contaminants. This study investigated the bacteriological quality and heavy metals from water in hand-dug wells in Lafia metropolis of Nasarawa State. A total of five selected handdug well samples were analyzed using standard methods. The concentration of heavy metals, ranged as follows: lead (0.559 – 0.65485 mg/L), iron (0.061 – 0.383 85 mg/L), and chromium (0.112 – 0.178 mg/L). The concentrations of the heavy metals studied were all higher than the WHO standard except for samples 1, 2, 3, and 4 which had iron concentration that were below the standard. Bacteriological analysis carried out on the water showed that none of the samples complied with bacteriological standards as total aerobic counts, generally exceeded permissible limit of 100 CFU/ml for coliform count and 1.0 x 102 CFU/ml for bacteria and pathogenic bacteria such as Escherichia coli, Pseudomonas aerugenosa, Staphylococcus aureus, Staphylococcus spp, Serretia marcescens, Proteus spp, Micrococcus spp were isolated.

Keywords: Water, Bacteria, Heavy Metals, Analysis, Lafia.