Abstract: The microbiological and physico-chemical analysis of the seven borehole waters used by off-campus students of MOUAU were carried out using the Most Probable Number Technique (MPN) for the detection of faecal coliform. Five bacterial species Enterobacter aerogenes, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus faecalis, Staphylococcus aureus and Pseudomonas aeruginosa were isolated together with two fungal specie namely: Mucor racemosus and Aspergillus niger. The Total Heterotrophic Plate Count (THPC) gave a range of 4.7x104- 1.82x105 cfu mL-1 with a mean of 7.89x104 cfu mL-1 while the Total Coliform Plate Count (TCPC) gave a range of 4.1x103-8.6x103 cfu mL-1 with mean 6.24x103 cfu. The Presumptive faecal coliform ranged between 0-12 coliform per 100 mL with a mean of 3.57 coliform per 100 mL. Faecal coliform was detected in 57.1% of the water samples. The physico-chemical parameters fell within acceptable limits except for nitrate whose range fell between 65-20 mg L-1 above WHO guidelines of 10 mg L-1. The findings show that the water samples except those from AL and AG boreholes did not meet WHO standard for drinking. Thus, the bore-holes water and should be treated before drinking.
C.N. Obi and P. George, 2011. The Microbiological and Physico-Chemical Analysis of Borehole Waters used by Off-Campus Students of Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike (MOUAU), Abia State, Nigeria. Research Journal of Biological Sciences, 6: 602-607.