Bacteriological and Physicochemical Quality of Drinking Water in Wegeda Town, Northwest Ethiopia

Waterborne diseases continue to challenge communities in low-income countries like Ethiopia. Clinical information in Wegeda town showed that the prevalence of waterborne diseases was 58%. This study aimed to evaluate bacteriological and physicochemical drinking water quality in Wegeda town. This study will add valuable scientific data for future intervention. Water samples from protected and unprotected springs, hand-dug well, taps, and households’ containers were collected from November 2018 to June 2019 for bacteriological and physicochemical analyses. Besides, information about the potential risk factors was collected using a structured questionnaire. A total of 120 water samples were collected and analyzed for total and fecal coliform counts using the multiple tube fermentation method (MPN). The presence of Escherichia coli was also checked from fecal coliform positive samples collected from households’ containers. Selected physicochemical parameters were also determined using the standard methods. In all cases, the median values of total and fecal coliform counts ranged from 5 to 27 and 2 to 13 MPN/100 ml, respectively. Accordingly, all of the drinking water samples did not comply with the standards. Coliforms were significantly higher in the households’ containers than in the sources (p