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Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon)

Received: 16 April 2015     Accepted: 22 April 2015     Published: 16 May 2015
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Abstract

Bamenda is a major town in the NW Region of Cameroon and constitutes part of the Cameroon Volcanic line. In the frame of this work, four springs and three wells in the Bamenda III council area were investigated to evaluate the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of their waters. All the water points yielded pH values below 6.5 and were classified as acidic water. Electrical conductivity ranged between 0.04-2.38μm/cm. The relative abundance of major ions (meq/l) was Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+>Na+ for cations and HCO3ˉ > SO42ˉ > NO3ˉ > PO43ˉ for anions. Major ion concentrations were within the WHO guidelines for drinking water, but Ca2+ (110-1770mg/l) and Mg2+ (97.05-236.85mg/l) concentrations were much higher and above WHO limits. Main water types in the dry season were Ca-Mg-HCO3 while in rainy season the main water types were Ca-Mg-HCO3 and a mixed Ca-Mg-SO4. Bacterial analysis revealed that the water samples were highly polluted and classified B, C and D according to Cheesbrough classification. The spring and well waters analysed are not suitable for drinking and domestic purposes therefore the population of Bamenda III which depends on the mentioned water for drinking and domestic purposes may face serious health problems if appropriate actions are not taken to prevent and mitigate the problems.

Published in American Journal of Environmental Protection (Volume 4, Issue 3)
DOI 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17
Page(s) 163-173
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2015. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Bamenda III, Faecal Bacterial Analysis, Physico-Chemical Analysis, Water Quality

References
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    Alice Magha, Margaret Tita Awah, Gus Djibril Kouankap Nono, Pierre Wotchoko, Mispa Ayuk Tabot, et al. (2015). Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon). American Journal of Environmental Protection, 4(3), 163-173. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17

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    ACS Style

    Alice Magha; Margaret Tita Awah; Gus Djibril Kouankap Nono; Pierre Wotchoko; Mispa Ayuk Tabot, et al. Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon). Am. J. Environ. Prot. 2015, 4(3), 163-173. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17

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    AMA Style

    Alice Magha, Margaret Tita Awah, Gus Djibril Kouankap Nono, Pierre Wotchoko, Mispa Ayuk Tabot, et al. Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon). Am J Environ Prot. 2015;4(3):163-173. doi: 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17

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  • @article{10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17,
      author = {Alice Magha and Margaret Tita Awah and Gus Djibril Kouankap Nono and Pierre Wotchoko and Mispa Ayuk Tabot and Veronique Kamgang Kabeyene},
      title = {Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon)},
      journal = {American Journal of Environmental Protection},
      volume = {4},
      number = {3},
      pages = {163-173},
      doi = {10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.ajep.20150403.17},
      abstract = {Bamenda is a major town in the NW Region of Cameroon and constitutes part of the Cameroon Volcanic line. In the frame of this work, four springs and three wells in the Bamenda III council area were investigated to evaluate the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of their waters. All the water points yielded pH values below 6.5 and were classified as acidic water. Electrical conductivity ranged between 0.04-2.38μm/cm. The relative abundance of major ions (meq/l) was Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+>Na+ for cations and HCO3ˉ > SO42ˉ > NO3ˉ > PO43ˉ for anions. Major ion concentrations were within the WHO guidelines for drinking water, but Ca2+ (110-1770mg/l) and Mg2+ (97.05-236.85mg/l) concentrations were much higher and above WHO limits. Main water types in the dry season were Ca-Mg-HCO3 while in rainy season the main water types were Ca-Mg-HCO3 and a mixed Ca-Mg-SO4. Bacterial analysis revealed that the water samples were highly polluted and classified B, C and D according to Cheesbrough classification. The spring and well waters analysed are not suitable for drinking and domestic purposes therefore the population of Bamenda III which depends on the mentioned water for drinking and domestic purposes may face serious health problems if appropriate actions are not taken to prevent and mitigate the problems.},
     year = {2015}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Physico-Chemical and Bacteriological Characterization of Spring and Well Water in Bamenda III (NW Region, Cameroon)
    AU  - Alice Magha
    AU  - Margaret Tita Awah
    AU  - Gus Djibril Kouankap Nono
    AU  - Pierre Wotchoko
    AU  - Mispa Ayuk Tabot
    AU  - Veronique Kamgang Kabeyene
    Y1  - 2015/05/16
    PY  - 2015
    N1  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17
    DO  - 10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17
    T2  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JF  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    JO  - American Journal of Environmental Protection
    SP  - 163
    EP  - 173
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-5699
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.ajep.20150403.17
    AB  - Bamenda is a major town in the NW Region of Cameroon and constitutes part of the Cameroon Volcanic line. In the frame of this work, four springs and three wells in the Bamenda III council area were investigated to evaluate the physico-chemical and bacteriological characteristics of their waters. All the water points yielded pH values below 6.5 and were classified as acidic water. Electrical conductivity ranged between 0.04-2.38μm/cm. The relative abundance of major ions (meq/l) was Ca2+ > Mg2+ > K+>Na+ for cations and HCO3ˉ > SO42ˉ > NO3ˉ > PO43ˉ for anions. Major ion concentrations were within the WHO guidelines for drinking water, but Ca2+ (110-1770mg/l) and Mg2+ (97.05-236.85mg/l) concentrations were much higher and above WHO limits. Main water types in the dry season were Ca-Mg-HCO3 while in rainy season the main water types were Ca-Mg-HCO3 and a mixed Ca-Mg-SO4. Bacterial analysis revealed that the water samples were highly polluted and classified B, C and D according to Cheesbrough classification. The spring and well waters analysed are not suitable for drinking and domestic purposes therefore the population of Bamenda III which depends on the mentioned water for drinking and domestic purposes may face serious health problems if appropriate actions are not taken to prevent and mitigate the problems.
    VL  - 4
    IS  - 3
    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Department of Geology, HTTC, The University of Bamenda, Bambili

  • Department of Geology, HTTC, The University of Bamenda, Bambili

  • Department of Geology, HTTC, The University of Bamenda, Bambili

  • Department of Geology, HTTC, The University of Bamenda, Bambili

  • Department of Geology, HTTC, The University of Bamenda, Bambili

  • Department of Earth Sciences, Faculty of Sciences, University of Yaoundé 1, Yaoundé, Cameroon

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