The Investigation of the Bacteriological Quality of Drinking Water in Schools in the Western Region of Libya

Abstract

Water is the source of all life, the most important liquid in our ecosystem – all plants,  so the quality of water is a major concern for producers, regulators and consumers, and so the occurrence of minimal water pollution is a real risk to health. Therefore, this study aimed to conduct microbiological analysis to determine the safety of water, by selecting drinking-water taps from 20 schools located in three regions from western Libya. 5 drinking water samples were taken from the city of Al-Ajailat as well as the city of Sabratha, and 10 drinking water samples were taken from the city of Sorman. Samples collection was conducted under temperature-controlled conditions and the biological tests were carried out in the microbiology laboratory at the Faculty of Medical Technology Sorman, University of Sabratha. The samples were analyzed immediately upon arrival, no later than 3 hours after sample collection, to determine the presence of fecal coliform bacteria by the total cell count of bacteria using the method of counting bacteria Non-self-feeding. Among 20 of the school drinking-water taps sampled, 15 of the sampled drinking-water taps(75%) were positive for bacterial contamination. 3 (15%) of the contaminated drinking water samples tested positive for Escherichia coli contamination. This study concluded that a large proportion of schools had contaminated drinking water. The presence of these bacteria in high levels, especially the coliform group, poses a risk on school children that use this water and reflects the seriousness of the unsafe water distribution network.