ASSESSMENT OF THE QUALITY OF SPRING WATER IN IBADAN, NIGERIA

Development of natural spring is one of the mini water schemes which were harnessed to improved access to water in Ibadan city. This study assesses the quality of the water supply from the natural spring with the aim of justifying weather the sources are potable as means for improved access to water. Samples of water from four natural spring sources were collected for qualitative tests: physical (colour, odour and taste), turbidity, Ph, nitrate, bacterial and total coliform test which were done using Most Probable Number (MPN). The results of the spring water quality test were compared with samples from public water taps and the World Health Organization (WHO) water quality standards using analysis of variance (Bonferroni method of ANOVA) to determine the significance of differences. Result of the comparison of natural spring sources with the WHO standards for drinking water, indicates that only one out of the for sampled spring waters shows a significance difference at 0.05 alpha level (T > t), and are within the acceptable WHO benchmark for drinking water for public health concerns. In order to sustain natural spring’s water, the supply sources should be protected from all forms of contamination.