Assessment Of The Physicochemical And Microbial Quality Of Water In Ke-Nya Stream At Babato-Kuma Community In The Kintampo North Municipal Assembly Of Brong Ahafo Region Of Ghana

ABSTRACT The study was carried out to evaluate the physicochemical and microbiological quality of the Ke-enya stream which is relied on by the inhabitants of Babato-kuma and its surrounding villages for their domestic and Agricultural activities. A total of twenty eight 28 water samples were collected at upstream midstream and downstream from November 2012 to January 2013 for analysis. Most of the physicochemical parameters were within WHO guidelines recommended for potable water with the exception of Turbidity and Colour which exceeded the WHO standard of 5 NTU and 15 Hz respectively. Colour ranged from 100 to 130 Hz with a mean of 1179.45 Hz whiles Turbidity ranged from 9 to 36 NTU with a mean of 20.7810.5 NTU. However Total Coliform 420-1188 CFU100ml 757261 Faecal Coliform 140-623 CFU100ml 305145 E.coli 46-391 CFU100ml 135102 and Total Heterotrophic bacteria 444-3129 CFUml 1341778 were higher than WHO standards. Bacterial contamination could be traced to settlements along the stream livestock production poor or non-existence sewage system coupled with poor sanitary conditions among others. Alternative sources of water supplies in the form of hand-dug wells or boreholes if possible by the Municipal assembly NGOs and other philanthropies to the inhabitants whose traditional sources of drinking water is directly from this stream will be beneficial in reducing the health implications associated with this pollution.