THE MICROBIOLOGICAL QUALITY OF PRIVATE AND COMMUNAL BOREHOLES IN THE TSHITALE-HLANGANANI REGION OF THE LIMPOPO PROVINCE, SOUTH AFRICA

A cross-sectional study was carried out to assess the microbiological quality of 97 private and 97 communal boreholes in the rural Thitale-Hlanganani area of the Limpopo Province, South Africa. Both bacterial and viral indicator microorganisms were used and included total coliform bacteria, faecal coliform bacteria, faecal streptococci bacteria, heterotrophic bacteria, Clostridium perfringens (vegetative cells and spores) and somatic bacteriophages. The South African criteria guidelines of good (negligible risk of microbial infection; fit for human consumption), marginal (slight risk of microbial infection; must be treated before consumption), and poor (risk of infectious disease transmission; not fit for human consumption) for water used for human consumption, with the relevant counts for each indicator organism, was used to group the private and communal boreholes according to the relevant indicator organism. Results indicated that although the majority of boreholes were placed into the good category, some boreholes did however fall into the marginal and poor categories for each indictor organism. This indicated the potential health risk present to the consumers using these boreholes for domestic water sources. Observations at the boreholes identified various potential sources of pollutions that could affect the microbiological quality of the borehole water. In conclusion, this study indicated the need for more intense monitoring of privately owned boreholes and the education of the rural communities on the installation and the maintenance of both private and communal boreholes