Bacteriological Quality of Alternative Water Sources in Bambui and Bambili Residential Areas, North-West Region, Cameroon

Bambui and Bambili residents collect water from different sources to fulfill their daily needs. Varieties of microbes exist in water including bacteria, algae, fungi, protozoa and viruses, where they form a complex ecosystem whose dynamics are usually difficult to comprehend. Those varieties of microbes play an important role for contamination of water and results in various outbreaks of diseases and death. The aim of this study is to evaluate the bacteriological quality of well and spring water sources in a residential area dominated by students. A total of 18 well water samples were randomly collected and subjected to bacteriological analysis; this is to trace the presence of pathogens indicators of faecal contamination. Analysis revealed that seventeen (17) of the eighteen wells were contaminated, with the open wells most contaminated, with some >1100 CFU/ml of water samples. Klebsiella sp. was the most common bacterial species isolated in almost all the wells (but for 3 that showed no growth), while other bacteria included: Enterobacter sp., Salmonella sp., E. coli and Proteus mirabilis. Generally, results revealed that about 95% of well water samples tested are of low microbiological quality and so do not fulfil requirements of WHO standards for drinking water.