Bayugan National Comprehensive High School

Physicochemical and
Bacteriological Analysis
of Water in Wawa River

By: Maureen Segui

Leeanne Buque

Mariel Joson
 Chapter I

Introduction to the Research Problem

Background of the Study

Water is one of the most important components of life and

life without it is impossible. The water bodies: rivers, lakes

and estuaries are continuously subjected to a dynamic state of

change due to increasing anti-environmental human activities and

some natural processes the quality of water is decreasing

continuously and is posing a great threat to all forms of life

including humans. Polluted water is the major cause for the

spread of many epidemics and some serious diseases like cholera,

tuberculosis, typhoid, diarrhea etc. Although several attempts

have been made by a number of researchers (Harrison, 1958; Lenat

and Crawford, 1994; Biggs, 1995; Gergel et al., 1999; Caraco et

al., 2003; Donohue et al., 2006) to study various aspects of

water quality and the factors responsible for its degradation in

order to formulate a significant control strategy all over the

globe yet the problem is on rise ( International Journal of

Science and Nature, 2004).

Rivers are the most important freshwater resource for man.

Unfortunately, river waters are being polluted by indiscriminate

disposal of sewerage, industrial waste and plethora of human

activities, which affects their physicochemical characteristics

and microbiological quality. People who consume fruit or

vegetables exposed to contaminated water are at the risk of

developing foodborne illness. In reporting most people who live

near river areas suffer with Diarrheas combined with Acute

Gastroenteritis (AGE) that is also diagnosed with cholera. In

2004, there was an estimated 18,056 cases of diarrhea and AGE

reported. 52.12% of these were males and 47.88% females. 73.46%

of the cases belonged to 14 years old below age groups. 33.08%

of total cases reported were coming from Surigao Sur and 29.73%

from Agusan Sur. Bislig City reported twice as much (10.79%) of

cases, than Butuan and Surigao City with only a little over than

5% each. Sporadic occurrences of diarrhea cases usually happen

due to the contamination of water bodies such as rivers.

The researchers had the concept of this study from the

annual examination of the health department on the local water

districts within the area. Most of the water examined are from

areas which are already known to be decontaminated because of

the usual examination it has every month. It leads them to

question about the other water resources which are not highly

observed such as the water in Wawa River that is used for

domestic and agriculture purposes. Therefore, effective

maintenance of water quality is required through appropriate

measurements. Through this observation, the researchers thought

of analyzing the physicochemical and bacteriological

characteristics that may describe the quality of water that

could help the farmers and agriculture industries within the

area.

Statement of the Problem

The study intends to investigate about the water quality of

Wawa River.

Specifically, the study seeks to find out:

1. What is the quality of water in terms of the

physicochemical parameter?

(a) pH value

(b) Temperature

(c) Total dissolved solids (TDS)

(d) Electrical conductivity

(e) Turbidity

(f) Calcium hardness

(g) Magnesium hardness

(h) Dissolved oxygen

 2. What is the quality of water in terms of the

bacteriological parameter?

(a) Total heterotrophic bacteria (TH)

(b) Total coliforms and total thermo tolerant coliforms

(c) Presence of Escherichia coli

(d)

Conceptual Framework

Evaluation of water quality in

Wawa River terms of physicochemical (pH
Sampling (Wawa level, electrical conductivity,
Bridge) turbidity etc.) and
bacteriological (total
heterotrophic bacteria (TH),
presence of Escherichia coli and
Total coliforms and total thermo
tolerant coliforms parameters.

Scope and Delimitation

Standard methods and protocol will be followed to carry out

analysis. Physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters will

be considered to check the quality of water samples collected

from Wawa River for this research article. Details of various

parameters being analyzed such as pH value (pH meter,(Eco

Testr), temperature (thermohunter), electrical conductivity

(electrical conductivity meter), total dissolved solids (TDS) in

mg/L (TDS meter (Eco Testr), turbidity (Turbidity meter),

Calcium hardness in mg/L, Magnesium hardness mg/L, Dissolve

Oxygen (DO) in mg/L. Bacteriological analysis will be carried

out using viable counting technique (CFU).

This study limits its coverage to the water quality of Wawa

River in terms of physicochemical and bacteriological

distinctiveness.

Definition of Terms

Physicochemical parameters - includes the pH value, temperature,

total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, turbidity,

calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, and dissolved oxygen. It

is used in determining water quality.

Bacteriological- includes the total heterotrophic bacteria (TH),

total coliforms and total thermo tolerant coliforms, and

identifying the presence of Escherichia coli.

Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) - comprise inorganic salts

(principally calcium, magnesium, potassium, sodium,

bicarbonates, chlorides, and sulfates) and some small amounts of

organic matter that are dissolved in water.

Dissolved Oxygen (DO)- refers to the amount of oxygen dissolved

in water and is particularly important in limnology(aquatic

ecology). The amount of dissolved oxygen often determines the

number and types of organisms living in that body of water. For

example, fish like trout are sensitive to low DO levels (less

than eight parts per million) and cannot survive in warm, slow-

moving streams or rivers

CFU(Colony Forming Unit)- is a unit used to estimate the number

of viable bacteria or fungal cells in a sample. Viable is

defined as the ability to multiply via binary fission under the

controlled conditions. Counting with colony-forming units

requires culturing the microbes and counts only viable cells, in

contrast with microscopic examination which counts all cells,

living or dead. The visual appearance of a colony in a cell

culture requires significant growth, and when counting colonies

it is uncertain if the colony arose from one cell or a group of

cells. Expressing results as colony-forming units reflects this

uncertainty.

Escherichia coli – is a pathogenic strain bacterium that causes

disease.

Electrical Conductivity (EC)- The electrical conductivity of

water estimates the total amount of solids dissolved in water -

TDS, which stands for Total Dissolved Solids. TDS is measured in

ppm (parts per million) or in mg/l.

pH value- pH indicates the sample's acidity but is actually a

measurement of the potential activity of hydrogen ions (H+) in

the sample. pH measurements run on a scale from 0 to 14, with

7.0 considered neutral. Solutions with a pH below 7.0 are

considered acids. Solutions with a pH above 7.0, up to 14.0 are

considered bases. All organisms are subject to the amount of

acidity of stream water and function best within a given range.

Turbidity- Turbidity is the measure of relative clarity of a

liquid. It is an optical characteristic of water and is an

expression of the amount of light that is scattered by material

in the water when a light is shined through the water sample.

The higher the intensity of scattered light, the higher the

turbidity.

Temperature- is an important factor to consider when assessing

water quality. In addition to its own effects, temperature

influences several other parameters and can alter the physical

and chemical properties of water.

Calcium and Magnesium hardness- is a general term that indicates

the total quantity of divalent salts present in water.

EDTA solution- Ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid is

an aminopolycarboxylic acid and a colourless, water-soluble

solid. It is widely used to dissolve limescale.

Membrane filtration- mechanical separation processes for

separating gaseous or liquid streams that use membrane

technology.

Total coliforms (TC)- include bacteria that are found in the

soil, in water that has been influenced by surface water, and in

human or animal waste.

Eosin methylene blue Agar (EMB)- is a both selective and

differential culture medium. It is selective culture medium for

gram-negative bacteria (selects against gram positive bacteria)

and is commonly used for the isolation and differentiation of

coliforms and fecal coliforms.

Review of Related Literature

An Evaluation of Water Quality of Narmada River was

conducted with reference to Physcochemical Parameters at

Hoshangabad City, MP, India carried out . For this studythey had

a total of one year monitoring of water quality and was carried

out by selecting four sample stations at downstream of

Hoshangabad City. They collected the river water sample were in

different sampling bottles as per the standard method APHA pH,

electrical conductivity, and turbidity were calculated at the

site itself, they checked the other parameters in a laboratory

by following APHA standard methods. After the study they got

following results:

VALUE

PARAMETER PRE-MANSOON MANSOON

pH 7.7-8.9 7.6-9.9

Electrical 373-462 272-364

Conductivity μmhos/cm μmhos/cm

Turbidity 12.11-13 NTU 21.7-29.64 NTU

Calcium 330-353 mg/l 370-396 mg/l

hardness

Magnesium 185-316 mg/l 196-293 mg/l

hardness

Magnesium 0.063-0.093 0.083-0.089

hardness mg/l mg/l

Phosphate 0.16-0.19 mg/l 0.19-0.28 mg/l

Sulphate 325-449 mg/l 415-493 mg/l

Chloride 270-289 mg/l 320-342 mg/l

DO 4.2-4.5 mg/l 4.1-4.6 mg/l

 The result of the presented study shows that river water

gets polluted as maximum parameter are not in the permissible

limit and this condition arise due to the local anthropogenic

activity , agricultural runoff and due to the industrial

effluent. So, if untreated sewage continuously gets discharge

into the river then potable nature of Narmada river will be

lost.

Another study by K. Saravanakumar1 and R. Ranjith Kumar is

conducted by selecting 10 different location for the study and

compared Groundwater samples from ten different locations of

Ambattur town during the post-rainy season (November2010).

Throughout the testing borosilicate glassware, distilled water

and E-Merk reagents were used. Samples were collected in

sterilized screw-capped polyethylene bottles of one litre

capacity and analyzed in laboratory for their physicochemical

parameters. After the study they got following result for the

selected city.
 PARAMETER VALUE

pH 7.2-8.5

Total alkalinity 270-320 mg/l

Total hardness 220-310 mg/l

Chloride Within permissible

limit

Sulphate 150-230 mg/l

Fluoride 0.8-1.4 mg/l

TDS Within permissible

limit

Conductivity 750-900 μmhos/cm

In conclusion, the water from the studied area was highly

contaminated with TDS also other observed were not in the

permissible limit, thus if people drink that water then problem

of certain diseases such as stomach diseases, gastric troubles

etc. arises.