DRINKING WATER

BACTERIOLOGICAL QUALITY AT SOURCE AND ITS DISTRIBUTING SUPPLY LINES IN LAHORE

Abstract

Introduction: World Health Organization, (WHO) estimates that more than 80%
of poor health conditions in developing countries, is related to water and sanitation condition.
The supply water and sanitary lines often overlap in our water supply system and water
contaminated by fecal contents and become a major cause of GIT infections and outbreaks
in human populations. Objective: The Objective of the study was to determine the fecal
contamination level in tube well water across the distributing supply lines. Study Design: The
study design was observational. Settings: Fatima Memorial Hospital, College of Medicine and
Dentistry Shadman Lahore. Period: February 01, 2012 to May 29, 2012. Method: The study
did not engage any ethical issues and conducted in five specific regions of Lahore. A 100 ml
of water sample was collected in sterile container, from the tube well and after every 100 meter
distance till 500 meters. The sample size was 250 from 45 tube wells and their distributing
supply lines. It was then observed for fecal coliforms using prescribed scientific methods.
Result: The results indicated that bacterial growth at baseline was 42.2%, and at extremity was
73.3%. The A Category water obtained at baseline is 60.0% and at the extreme level it is 26.7%.
So by increasing distance from source of water the risk of fecal contamination and low quality
of drinking water increases. Conclusion: It is concluded that as the distance increased from
the main source