Physico-chemical and microbiological characteristics of water for domestic use in Cotonou in the republic of Benin

Water is the source of life. It is essential for the survival of all living things. However, its alteration becomes harmful to humans. In Cotonou, the main city of Benin, the quality of drinking water is worrying because of many factors such as environmental pollution and poor hygiene around water sources. In fact, poorly ecological management methods of household waste pose risks of contamination of soil and water resources. This study aims to assess the quality of domestic water for households in the city of Cotonou. The methodology adopted is summed up in a physico-chemical and microbiological analysis of thirty water samples taken from households in the 13 districts of the city of Cotonou. The results obtained at the physicochemical level show that, apart from the waters of SONEB at the source, whose turbidity (5.6 NTU) complies with the standard which is 5 NTU, that of other sources is much greater than Standard. This indicates the presence of suspended solids in the water that may harbor microorganisms harmful to humans. With regard to microbiological quality, all the water sampled at household level contains E.Coli, the number of which is much higher than the Benin standard which sets at 0/1 ml of water. In addition, the water sampled from the wells contains high numbers of fecal coliforms. As for SONEB water, the presence of coliforms was determined but with lower numbers than well water (50 / ml at household level and 2 / ml at source level.