Effects of improved storage containers on the bacteriological quality of household drinking water in low-income urban communities in Ibadan, Nigeria

This study assessed the effectiveness of improved storage containers on household drinking water quality in four low-income urban communities in Ibadan, Nigeria. Three hundred randomly selected respondents were interviewed, while 44 households were selected and randomly assigned to four improved container treatment groups: Covered Buckets with Taps (CBT), Covered Buckets without Taps (CB), Covered Kegs with Taps (CKT) and Covered Kegs without Taps (CK). Water samples from springs, regular storage containers (RSC), and improved containers were analysed for total coliform (TC), total viable bacteria (TVB) and Escherichia coli for 2 weeks. About 96% reported using the same containers for cooking and drinking water, while only 23.3% used a form of water treatment. TC count for RSC and CB exceeded the recommended limit. Only 3 (6.8%) of the samples from RSC contained E. coli. A statistically significant difference was observed between the mean TC counts of samples from the improved containers. Percentage reduction in TC count from RSC, and the improved containers (CB, CBT, CK and CKT) were 25.4%, 37.3%, 45.0%, 56.8% and 53.8% respectively. Bacillus, Staphylococcus, Klebsiella, Proteus and Pseudomonas were isolated from the water samples. CK produced the best result. Hygiene education on use of appropriate storage containers for drinking water is recommended at the household level.