Microbial Quality and Mineral Content of Water Consumed in Ho Municipality of Volta Region, Ghana.

Background: Water quality and safety are fundamental to human development and wellbeing. Therefore, the purpose of this study was to determine the bacteriological and mineral content of water in Ho, the capital city of the Volta Region of Ghana. Methods: Sachet, bottled, and tap water were sampled from January to February in 2019 due to the high rate of consumption and their presumed quality which were taken at random from five different locations throughout the municipality. Water quality assessment protocols were utilized to ascertain the bacteriological as well as mineral contents of the samples, whilst ANOVA was used to determine statistical difference and significance at p<0.05. Results: The maximum Heterotrophic Plate Count for tap water was 9.95±0.64x10⁵ Colony Forming Unit (CFU)/ml, for sachet water was 7.46±0.09x10⁶ CFU/ml, and for bottled water was 1.10±0.56x10⁵ CFU/ml, all obtained on nutrient agar. For MacConkey agar, maximum growth was 2.94±0.03x10⁶, 9.42±1.67x10⁶, and 2.31±0.77x10⁵ CFU/ml for tap, sachet, and bottled water, respectively. The Xylose Lysine Deoxycholate Agar indicated maximum growth of 1.84±0.34x10³, 5.72±0.06x10⁶, and 5.50±2.12x10⁴ CFU/ml for tap, sachet, and bottled water, respectively. The physical parameters such as pH, turbidity, color, and conductivity were within the recommended limits set by the Ghana Standards Authority. However, tap water recorded the highest turbidity, bottled water recorded the highest and least pH and turbidity, respectively. Moreover, the mineral analysis revealed high levels of phosphate (PO₄^3-), chloride (C^-), and sodium (Na) in bottled water, and total iron (Fe) was relatively high in several tap and sachet water samples, the latter item also recorded the highest for ammonia (NH₃). Conclusions: Overall, the tap, sachet, and bottled water samples exhibited varied levels of microbial, and mineral contents whilst the physical parameters were relatively within the recommended levels. The sachet and tap water were the least wholesome in comparison with the bottled water samples. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]