Evidence of health risk in stored domestic water in Maiduguri , North Eastern Nigeria

In Maiduguri, capital of Borno State, water supply is insufficient despite the fact that the town's sources of water are a treatment plant and deep wells. There is a long dry season and short rainfall period characteristic of an arid region. This makes water very essential especially for domestic purposes. As a result of the above, water storage is a common practice among the populace. The commonest way of storing water is the construction of underground structures traditionally called ‘dams'. Water samples from randomly selected ‘dams' in a peri-urban part of the town were analysed microbiologically. The organisms isolated were Escherichia coli, Klebsiella, Enterobacter aerogenes , and Clostridium .It was concluded that the water in these storage systems was faecally contaminated and thus pose a health risk. Keywords : water storage, structures traditionally called dams, Maiduguri, microbiological analysis, faecally contaminated water Global Journal of Environmental Sciences Vol. 4(2) 2005: 160-163