chemical and bacteriological analysis of drinking water from alternative sources in the dschang municipality, cameroon化学和细菌分析饮用水从dschang直辖市的替代来源,喀麦隆.pdfVIP

Journal of Environmental Protection, 2011, 2, 620-628 doi:10.4236/jep.2011.25071 Published Online July 2011 (/journal/jep) Chemical and Bacteriological Analysis of Drinking Water from Alternative Sources in the Dschang Municipality, Cameroon Emile Temgoua University of Dschang, Faculty of Agronomy and Agricultural Science, Dschang, Cameroon. Email: emile.temgoua@ Received February 28th, 2011; revised April 2nd, 2011; accepted May 9th, 2011. ABSTRACT In the poor zones of sub-Saharan Africa , the conventional drinking water network is very weak. The populations use alternative groundwater sources which are wells and springs. However, because of urbanization, the groundwater sources are degrading gradually making pure, safe, healthy and odourless drinking water a matter of deep concern. There are many pollutants in groundwater due to seepage of organic and inorganic pollutants, heavy metals, etc. Sev- enteen alternative water points created in 2008, for drinking water in Dschang municipality were examined for their physicochemical and bacteriological characteristics. The results revealed that water from managed points in Dschang is of poor quality. Most of the water samples were below or out of safety limits (standards) provided by WHO. The wa- ter is characterized by high turbidity and presence of feacal coliforms. It can be used for drinking and cooking only after prior treatment. This situation shows that water point management was limited only to the drawing up comfort. These water points require installation of suitable surfaces of filtration and the development of a chlorination follow-up plan. Specific concerns of well water were raised and the management options to be taken proposed. Keywords : Sub-Saharan Region, Alternative Water Assessing Point , Water Quality 1. Introduction in Cameroon, encounters enormous difficulties of access