Microbiological and Physicochemical Characteristics of Swimming Pool Water in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria

Eze V.C.^1, , Onwuakor C.E.¹ and Ikwuegbu A.L.²

¹Department of Microbiology, College of Natural Sciences, Michael Okpara University of Agriculture, Umudike, Umuahia, Abia State, Nigeria

²Department of Microbiology, Faculty of Science, Madonna University, Elele, Rivers State, Nigeria

Cite this paper:
Eze V.C., Onwuakor C.E. and Ikwuegbu A.L.. Microbiological and Physicochemical Characteristics of Swimming Pool Water in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria. Journal of Applied & Environmental Microbiology. 2015; 3(1):6-10. doi: 10.12691/jaem-3-1-2

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the microbiological and physicochemical characteristics of swimming pool water in Owerri. A total of twenty (20) samples of swimming pool water from different locations were investigated for microbiological and physicochemical characteristics. The media used were nutrient agar, MacConkey agar, eosin methylene blue agar, Salmonella-Shigella agar, Sabouraud dextrose agar, thiosulphate citrate bile salt sucrose agar for total aerobic plate count, coliform count, Escherichia coli count, Salmonella-Shigella count, Vibrio cholerae count and fungal count respectively. The identification of the bacterial isolates was performed using standard microbiological techniques which included Gram staining and biochemical tests. The fungal isolates were identified using the needle mount technique. Data were subjected to analysis of variance. The mean total aerobic plate count ranged from 0.11 ± 0.1Log₁₀ CFU/ml to 0.74 ± 0.09Log₁₀ CFU/ml. The coliform count ranged from 0 ± 0.00 CFU/ml to 0.40 ± 0.02Log₁₀ CFU/ml. The Escherichia coli count, Salmonella-Shigella count and Vibrio cholerae count had 0 ± 0.00 CFU/ml respectively. The fungal count ranged from 0 ± 0.00 CFU/ml to 0.30 ± 0.07 Log₁₀ CFU/ml. The microorganisms isolated from the swimming pool samples were Staphylococcus aureus, Klebsiella spp Pseudomonas aeruginosa and Aspergillus spp. The physicochemical parameters analyzed were within WHO limit for drinking water quality except total dissolved solid with mean values of 380 ± 10.0mg/L and 275 ± 8.0 mg/L respectively. The result showed that the swimming pools investigated were not contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms.

Keywords:
swimming pool microbiological physicochemical characteristics Owerri Nigeria

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