A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF PIPEBORNE WATER AND OTHER SOURCES OF WATER WITHIN ENUGU METROPOLIS FOR HUMAN CONSUMPTION (INDEPENDENCE LAYOUT LOCALITY)

CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

In light of the creation idea, it is abundantly evident that water has been around for at least as long as people have. Since the beginning of time, man has made use of this one-of-a-kind commodity for a wide variety of uses, including those in the home. The majority of our water comes from surface water, such as rivers, streams, lakes, oceans, and seas. The water bodies that make up these bodies of water are very likely to be contaminated with trash from both homes and industries, as well as from agricultural practices. The issue becomes worse as the population grows, and as a result, the contamination of water with feces makes it a possible vector for the transmission of disease to humans. This puts people's lives and health at jeopardy (Adewale, 2022).

It should come as no surprise that water is vitally necessary for life in any form, including human life, animal life, and plant life. Water is involved in the majority of the biochemical reactions that take place throughout the metabolism and proliferation of living cells, and these reactions all take place in water. (Adeniji,2022).

Water is utilized by man not only for the purpose of drinking, but also for other activities such as bathing, washing, laundering, heating, air conditioning, agriculture, stock raising and gardens, industrial processes and cooling water power and steam power, fire protection, swimming, fishing, and the propagation of wild life, as well as navigation.

The natural environment allows for the presence of a wide variety of microorganisms, including those that originate from the soil, animals, and even sewage. The amount of microorganisms that may be found in surface waters like streams and pools, as well as stored waters like lakes and huge ponds, can vary greatly. According to Barker (2022), water may be broken down into three categories: surface water, which includes things like rivers, lakes, seas, and oceans; groundwater; and surface water. Barker, 2022).

The term "ground water" has been defined by a great number of individuals in a variety of various ways, including: well, bore hole. The term "ground water" refers to water that is not saturated and may be found in areas where the pores in the soil or rock solid materials are filled (pelezer et al, 2021).

the water vapor in the atmosphere, which includes precipitation. There are many different kinds of bacteria and other microorganisms, such as algae and fungus, that live in all natural bodies of water. These microbes make up all water bodies. Some of these micro-organisms are native to the natural water, but others are migratory and enter the water from the surrounding environment (Pelezar and Reg, 2021). The majority of bacteria may be found in fresh water, including pseudomonas, Archacbacter, and vibrio, to name a few of the more frequent ones. These are gram negative bacteria; gram positive bacteria found in water include micrococcus, Archacbacter, and actinomycetes. gram negative bacteria are found in water (Bonde, 2022). Because tap water is one of the water sources that is used in the majority of homes, it has been noticed that the water coming out of the tap will become clear on occasion. Because of this, it is necessary to load the water in order to ensure that it is portable (Bonde, 2022).

It is vital to analyze the microbiological content of water due to the rise in the amount of drinking water available from a variety of sources, particularly in the state of Enugu. The presence of disease-causing microorganisms that may put a person's life in jeopardy is a risk that comes with drinking water. The majority of sources of drinking water are often polluted with a variety of contaminants, including feces, animal and plant wastes, which renders the water unsafe for use if it is not treated first. The only way to determine whether or not water has been contaminated with disease-causing organisms and other types of contaminants is to conduct a microbiological analysis of the water in question. The vast majority of human diseases, including typhoid, paratyphoid cholera, amobiasis, Trichinosis, gastroenteritis, salmonella, shigellosis, diphtheria, giadia, dracunculus, etc., are recognized to be water-borne diseases. (Boboret , 2022).

Diseases that are water born are diseases that spread via water as their primary mode of transmission. If not stopped in their tracks, water born diseases have the potential to wipe out whole communities. Determining the microbial load or content of such water sources is therefore the quickest way to prevent the outbreak of these diseases and to establish whether or not such water sources are portable. If the microbial content is not within an acceptable limit, then such water sources should be condemned as soon as possible (Bobor, 2022).