Bacterial community patterns of domestic water sources in the Gogogo and Nkonkobe areas of the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa

In the present study we have characterised the microbiological quality of the drinking water from different water sources in Gogogo and Nkonkobe areas in the Eastern Cape Province, South Africa. Using both standard microbiological methods and the commercial API 20E assay kit, we have been able to identify 54 different species of micro-organisms, 77.5% of which proved to be human pathogens, 53.2% of them, belonging to the family Enterobacteriacae and 22.5% were non-pathogens. Further investigations revealed a marked difference both in terms of the number and in the variety of organisms during different seasons. Thus the highest number of bacteria, i.e. 45.74% for Gogogo drinking water sources and 48.1% for Nkonkobe was registered in winter, while the lowest, i.e. 14.18%, for Gogogo and 10.94% for Nkonkobe water sources was recorded in spring. Considering the overall bacterial community pattern of domestic water sources in the Gogogo and Nkonkobe areas, it can be concluded that the water is of poor microbial quality and requires extensive purification before any domestic use can be considered. WaterSA Vol.30 (3) 2004: 341-34