ASSESSMENT OF DRINKING WATER QUALITY IN AL HAWATA-WADELAGEILI, GADARIF STATE, SUDAN

Health problems linked to drinking water in Gadarif State especially in the area of Al Hawata Town are clinically well documented. In this study, the quality of 40 drinking water samples collected from the targeted area was investigated with respect to pH, electric conductivity (EC dS/m), total dissolved solids (TDS mg/l), turbidity, major ions, total hardness (as CaCO3 mg/l).Total coliform bacteria and E-coli, as indicators of fecal contamination, were also investigated. Results revealed that 97.5% of the samples comply with the permissible drinking water limits set by local, regional and international standards and guidelines, 10% of the samples were found above the upper level (2.3 NTU) set by the SSMO for turbidity. The concentrations of ions (with the exception of Ca+2, Mg+2 and Fe+2) were below the upper level set by the various standards and guidelines. Bacteriological analysis indicated that 35% of the drinking water samples examined were contaminated with coliform bacteria, 7.5% of the samples were contaminated with E-coli, indicating the presence of fecal contamination. Some of the obtained data were in good agreement with the respective standards while others are either above, below or do not meet local, regional and international standards and guidelines limits for drinking water quality.