ABSTRACT

 Comparative analysis of Tap, Borehole, Well and Package water in Gombe metropolis of Gombe State, Nigeria was conducted in order to examine their qualities with a view to determine their portability. A total of 8 water samples collected from four different functional water supply sources in the study area were subjected to physicochemical and bacteriological test and analyzed using standard analytical techniques and instruments. Most of the physicochemical parameters of the samples from the four different water supply sources were within the acceptable limits of the World Health Organization (2004) standard for drinking water except for the total dissolved solids of W2 which is 39.36% higher and the alkalinity of five of the samples viz; B1 which is 16.02% higher, B2 which is 17.76% higher. The Tap water samples T 1 and T2 are 17.62% and 17.36% higher respectively. The well water W1 and W2 are 20.69% and 7.34% higher respectively in comparison with the WHO standard. The chloride of the well water samples W1 was also above the WHO recommended standard having 65.77% higher.

The bacteriological analysis result was unsatisfactory for there was evidence of growth of indicator organisms (Total coliform) in all the water samples. Analysis of variance (ANOVA) result (F2, 8=2.876, P=0.025) shows a very significant variation in the physicochemical variables of the water samples.

From the findings, it is recommended that the water supply sources in the study area be properly treated before human consumption and other domestic purposes.