Appraisal of Heavy Metal Presence and Water Quality having Microbial Load and Associated Human Health Risk: A study on tube-well water in Nalitabari township of Sherpur district, Bangladesh

Abstract

This article is based on a study aimed to determine physiochemical parameters, fecal coliform, total coliforms, heterotrophic plate count, arsenic, iron and lead of water to evaluate their effects on human health. Analysis was carried out on tube-well water collected from Nalitabari township of Sherpur District in Bangladesh. The dissolved oxygen (DO), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity and electrical conductivity were in the ranges of 4.30 to 7.30 ppm, 350 to 792 mg/l, 0.2 to 0.5%, and 715 to 1,970 μS/cm. The pH values were slightly lesser or more than permissible value. Due to the vicinity to the latrines, 17 tube-wells’ water was contaminated by fecal coliforms. The highest heterotrophic plate count was 7.5×103 cfu/ml in ward-8 of the town. Eschericia coli and Vibrio cholerae were identified in ratio of 30.56% and 18.06%, respectively, in the tube-well water, resulting into diarrhea among children. About 6.94% of tube-well water was contaminated with arsenic. 3.25% and 4.5% respondents were suffering from skin diseases and headache, respectively. So, an alternative source of drinking water should be arranged for a better public health of present and next generations.