Determinant factors of bacteriological contamination of drinking water at the household level in Hidi Hora, Serbo and Turfe semi-urban villages, Oromia region, Ethiopia

Abstract

Water quality is a critical factor affecting human health and welfare. Studies showed that approximately 3.1% of deaths and 3.7% of disability-adjusted-life-years worldwide are attributable to unsafe water, poor sanitation and hygiene (WHO, 2005). Ethiopia is one of the countries which adopted the millennium development declaration to reduce the poverty of the country at 2015 (UNDP, 2008).Even if drinking water of poor urban communities is obtained from a safe source, it can become contaminated at the point-of-use (William et al., 2007). To know bacteriological contamination of house hold drinking water between source and point-of-use, 78 households’ drinking water sample were taken from the three Sami urban villages, Oromia region, Ethiopia. The samples of the drinking water were examined for its bacteriological quality and associated the result with socio-demographic characteristics, the water collection, storage, handling, sanitary practices, walking distance of the source of water, total volume of water collected at a time, and time since water was collected. Standard methods were used to determine the presence of indicator organisms. Household water quality was characterized by relatively high levels of E. coli and F.coliform. Water from households has significantly more E. coli and F.coliform than water from the source. The arithmetic mean E.coli for all samples from the sampled households was 185.6 E.coli per 100 ml water and 199.8 F.coliform per 100ml of the house hold drinking water. Almost three quarters of the households, 74.4%, had water with greater than zero E. coli /100 ml of water and 89.74%, had water with greater than zero F.coliform/100ml of water. SPSS version 16 statistical analysis was used for the analysis of determinant factors of water recontamination at the house hold level in this study. According to the logistic regression analysis in this study, bacteriological contamination of water at the house hold level is significantly associated with the water collection, storage, handling, environmental sanitary practices, walking distance of the source of water from the house hold, total volume of water collected at a time and time since water was collected. This study points to the need to extend drinking water quality beyond the point of distribution to the point of consumption. A household questionnaire survey indicated an urgent need for education concerning the risk of waterborne diseases, the proper use of safe household water-storage devices and water treatment processes and improvement of hygiene and sanitation practices.