MULTI-PARAMETRIC ASSESSMENT OF DRINKING WATER SAFETY AND HOUSEHOLD PRACTICES IN ISALE-OYO COMMUNITY, SOUTHWESTERN NIGERIA.

Abstract

Access to safe drinking water remains a critical public health challenge in indigenous urban settlements across sub-Saharan Africa, where sanitation deficits, aging infrastructure, and poor household water management compound source-level contamination. Isale-Oyo indigenous community in Oyo Town, southwestern Nigeria, exemplifies these vulnerabilities through high population density, traditional compound housing, shared sanitation facilities, and near-total dependence on shallow groundwater. This study assessed household water-handling, storage, treatment practices; physicochemical and bacteriological water quality; and some heavy metal concentrations in drinking water sources within Isale-Oyo, benchmarked against WHO (2022) and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ, 2015) limits. A cross-sectional descriptive design was used. Structured questionnaires were administered to 90 households, and 30 water sources (hand-dug wells and boreholes) were sampled in duplicate across GPS-verified sites. Physicochemical parameters followed APHA (2022) methods; microbiological analysis quantified total coliform count, Escherichia coli, and total heterotrophic bacterial count; iron and lead were quantified. Data were analysed using descriptive statistics, Pearson correlation, one-way ANOVA, and chi-square (p < 0.05). Mean pH (5.66 ± 0.50) fell below WHO range, while chloride, phosphate, and iron exceeded permissible limits. All samples contained detectable E. coli and coliforms, with strong inter-indicator correlations confirming pervasive faecal contamination (r = 0.840, p < 0.001). Lead remained within limits. Notably, 45.6% of respondents never treated their water, 50% practiced open defecation, and 67.8% used open dumping. Findings indicate bacteriologically unsafe, chemically compromised water driven by poor sanitation and household practices, warranting urgent well protection, treatment promotion, and sanitation interventions.