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DOI 10.1007/s12403-010-0025-4
Received: 20 January 2010 / Revised: 29 March 2010 / Accepted: 30 March 2010 / Published online: 28 April 2010
US Government 2010
Abstract The variability of water quality due to fecal coliform bacteria among shallow wells (3767 m deep) in Aba
northwest and Owerri west flank of the Imo River basin
Nigeria surpassed surface explanation. This is because the
communities have similar human and animal waste disposing habit. Analytical results show that six out of ten
wells (60%) have 4070FC/100 ml of water exceeding the
10FC/100 ml of water allowable by the world health organization (WHO). The pollution is attributed predominantly to
the absence of toilet facilities in automobile mechanic villages, and transit grazing of cattle in the area. Uphole refraction and vertical electric sounding revealed presence of
highly weathered topsoil to an average depth (18 m), often
with gravel bed. Water table is 1621 m, fluctuating below
and above the weathered base. Results implicate the coliform polluted shallow wells as those located in areas where
water table (WT) is above weathered base and coincides
with the base of khaki colored gravel bed. As a result,
safe depth of shallow wells is obtained as: WT + 48 m at locations were weathered base is above WT, and WT + 66 m
at locations were weathered base is below WT, for a total
cased depth ranging from 60 m (200 ft) to 85.4 m (280 ft). In
the absence of adequate treatment, the polluted wells may be
closed. Auto mechanic villages without toilet facilities, transit grazing near streams and residential areas, poorly constructed septic tanks may be prohibited by law, and the pracM.A. Nwachukwu () H. Feng
Dept. of Earth & Environ Studies, Montclair State University,
Montclair, NJ, USA
e-mail: nwachukwum1@mail.montclair.edu
M.I. Amadi F.U. Umunna
Dept. of Geoscience, Federal University of Tech. Owerri, Owerri,
Nigeria
76
for commercial purpose. Notwithstanding, some helpless individuals could still collect water from the polluted well
for other domestic purposes, increasing room for waterrelated diseases. For small private/commercial wells such
as the wells under the investigation, the world health organization (WHO) suggests that a zero E. coli count and not
more than 10 coliforms per 100 ml is appropriate (Feachem
et al. 1977). The zero E. coli count standard by WHO is
attainable, but appears too high for general applicability in
tropical developing countries.
In the groundwater zone, a hydraulic conductivity of 20
26.41 m/day, and transmissivity of 5001370 m2 /day were
obtained in the area (Ekwe et al. 2006). Effects of exposure to contaminated domestic water sources may be gradual, making people often to overlook both the immediate and
the future consequences. Jha (2007) stated as follows: Human excreta are the cause of many enteric diseases such as
cholera, dysentery, typhoid, paratyphoid, infectious hepatitis, diarrhea etc. Food poisoning, eye, ear, nose and throat
infections can also result from exposure to such contaminated water. It was observed that in rural areas, 80% of diseases are borne of human excreta, and that safe disposal
of human waste is most important to improve community
health and quality of life. Mechanic villages and location
sites for selected trade groups and artisans over a government environmental action lack toilet facilities in the study
area. As a result, human excreta litters around the sites, degrading the environment. The most alarming is the total absence of toilet facilities in mechanic villages, whereas each
of these mechanic villages could record over one thousand
human population daily, except on Sundays. As a result,
shallow wells sited in the vicinity of mechanic villages and
essentially in the direction of drainage are most vulnerable
The Causes and the Control of Selective Pollution of Shallow Wells by Coliform Bacteria, Imo River Basin
to fecal coliform pollution. Environmentally friendly automobile mechanic village concept is being introduced as a
21st century strategy to improve local and global environmental quality in developing countries (Nwachukwu et al.
2010b).
Njemanze et al. (1999) attributed the high rate of diarrhea in the study area to lack of potable water at different
communities.They indicated a total of 11,537 cases of diarrhea to have been reported in 1999, whereas about half
of this number may not have been reported, due to lack of
records. The number of deaths due to this and the effects on
household economy are yet to be determined (Nwachukwu
2008). The Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources,
Bureau of Drinking Water and Groundwater (2005) recommended that well water should be at least tested annually,
preferably at the end of rain season, and whenever a well is
serviced, including change of submersible pump. Well water should be tested also whenever a change in taste, odor
or color is noticed. The publication contained that several
strains of bacteria can survive a long time and find their way
into the groundwater, moving through coarse soils, such as
the coastal plain sand of the study area. Properly located and
constructed water wells should be free of coliform bacteria.
Presence of coliform, which may not cause serious health
problem on its own, indicates that the well is at risk to more
serious forms of contamination. For example, presence of E.
coli (fecal contamination) will indicate a more serious health
problem.
A number of recent studies are on record concerned
with coliform pollution of shallow wells in different parts
of Nigeria, such as: Adekunle et al. (2007), Olabisi et al.
(2008), Adekunle and Eniola (2008), and Ejechi and Ejechi
(2007), and Ajayi et al. (2008), etc. As important as these
studies are in revealing the health dangers associated with
coliform bacteria, hidden in shallow hand-dug or driven
wells proliferated in different parts of the country, none of
the papers confronted the issue through well design based
on prevailing surface and subsurface environmental scenarios. This paper approaches the issue of coliform pollution
of shallow wells through a practical method of environmental problem solving, by integrating surface and subsurface
investigation results to produce a pollution control shallowwell model design that may be widely applicable in domestic shallow-water well development.
According to Foster and Hirata (1988), assessment of
groundwater pollution potential in a given drinking water
catchments area could be based on certain hazard conditions such as high density of poorly sealed latrines on a shallow aquifer, to highly complex urban and industrial scenarios with diverse human activities followed by indiscriminate
waste dumping, in which the key sources of pollution are
difficult to identify. The difficulty in identification of causes
of water quality variation in this case was not due to complex
77
2 Methods of Investigation
Preliminary information on the incidents of water- and
environment-related diseases in the area was obtained from
direct interviews with community members. A good number of community members between eighteen and twentyfour were interviewed in each of the communities during the
78
conducted single point VES at each of the selected well locations with which we mapped the depth of weathering, depth
to water table, and the underlying lithology. We integrated
water analysis results with the geophysical results, in order
to understand the subsurface scenario for the coliform pollution parity in nearby wells along the flank. We then analyzed
the results to produce a safe design of shallow wells that will
be most appropriate in the area based on the interactions of
lithology, the water table and the weathered depths.
An uphole seismic refraction aims at determining the
depth or thickness of the weathered layer for compensation
or correction during processing of seismic data particularly
in petroleum exploration. It is useful in making decisions
on drilled and charge depths during any seismic field operation, applicable also in engineering site investigation. For
literature demonstrating the field techniques of vertical electric sounding (VES) and uphole seismic refraction, we refer
the readers to Dobrin and Savit (1988) and Telford et al.
(1990). The apparent resistivity (/m) at each measurement
point was computed by multiplying the field resistance by
a geometric factor equations ((1) and (2)). In the VES, L is
the current electrode spread (m), and l is the potential electrode spread (m). The apparent resistivity values were then
applied in an automated Schlumberger analysis to obtain the
VES curves, with number of layers constrained to the model
curve. VES traverses were run east to west, in the direction
of regional strike.
Apparent resistivity a = K R (/m),
where K = geometric factor; R = field resistance.
Equation (1) can be expressed as follows:
(L/2)2 (l/2)2
a =
R.
l
(1)
(2)
Table 1 Uphole refraction data between Orji and Nekede, amended from Nwachukwu (2003)
Uphole
V1 (m/s)
V2 (m/s)
V3 (m/s)
18.4
260.9
670.89
1888.8
27.0
18.8
347.3
657.6
1856.4
27.0
18.1
318.2
658.9
1956.9
14.1
28.0
20.3
402
654
1739.7
20
32.0
19.8
328.6
654.5
1948.7
D1
D2
D3
Z1
Z2
Z3
T1
T2
T3
(m)
(m)
(m)
(m)
(m)
(m)
(m/s)
(m/s)
(m/s)
1.2
5.4
18.3
5.7
11.6
16.5
26.4
25.3
4.7
18.3
5.9
13
16.6
20.0
0.76
5.8
18.3
12
17.1
18.1
0.83
5.46
18.3
4.85
12.8
17
0.76
6.7
18.3
5.9
14.2
20.34
0.83
7.2
18.3
5.7
13
19.33
19.4
28.6
19.5
335.4
705.1
1928.7
1.2
6.3
18.3
5.8
11.13
16.25
15.6
26.0
17.8
449.4
670.7
1945.5
1.5
6.13
18.3
5.9
15
19.63
18
30.0
21.2
500
705.5
1789.2
1.2
4.9
18.3
4.7
12
19
12.6
25.1
20.3
469.1
674
1833.3
10
1.46
7.4
18.3
5.6
13
19.33
14.6
30.3
19.3
484.9
673.6
1945.6
The Causes and the Control of Selective Pollution of Shallow Wells by Coliform Bacteria, Imo River Basin
79
considered for perfect selection of VES stations. Uphole velocity (V ) (3), and intercept time (Ti ) (4) were both important in the data processing. The two parameters can be obtained as follows:
V = (D + Z)/T ,
Ti =
(3)
(4)
(5)
80
Table 2 Results of VES at well locations where well water has coliform pollution
VES
Umude
layers
/m
Ihiagwa
Depth
/m
(m)
Umucham
Depth
/m
(m)
Ariaria mkt.
Depth
/m
(m)
Oforola Amorji
Depth
/m
(m)
Depth
(m)
Depth
(m)
Topsoil
1286
8.6
1040
7.0
1261
6.7
1170
5.6
1040
6.2
1176
6.8
Sand/Gravel
3680
23.5
3020
22.4
3780
18.0
3520
24.0
3462
20.6
3100
22.3
Sand (FSUP)
720
86.3
683
84.0
709
80.4
687.5
80.8
1140
79.1
1080
76.0
Sand (HSLP)
1760
118.6
1800
106.0
1690
112.6
2130
102.5
2086
132.4
2340
123.6
Sandy-clay
Wd = 52 m
Wd = 50 m
Wd = 51.5 m
Wd = 52.4 m
Wd = 49 m
Wd = 51 m
for high infiltration rates (1823 cm/h). Generally, the topsoil has a mean pH of 4.3 and a moisture range of 2070%,
while nutrient loading of the environment remained continuous. The above measured values are supportive of rapid migration of bacterial in the soil profile that may cause instant
pollution of shallow wells.
The VES data processing presented three characteristic
type curves: K-type (1 < 2 > 3), H-type (1 > 2 <
3), and a combination of K and H (HK or KH) type curves
(Fig. 5). VES results were similar at the six sites (Table 2) indicating that all the wells were recharged by the near-surface
fairly saturated upper prospect (FSUP) which has average
The Causes and the Control of Selective Pollution of Shallow Wells by Coliform Bacteria, Imo River Basin
81
Table 3 Results of VES at well locations where well water has no coliform pollution
VES
Umuehilgbu
layers
/m
Umule
Depth (m)
/m
Ariaria Road
Depth (m)
/m
Ezenwagbara
Depth (m)
/m
Depth (m)
Topsoil
840
9.7
780
8.0
894
6.1
902
6.8
Silty sand
740
27.0
818
37.1
1087
26.0
1086
24.6
Sand/Gravel
2670
67.0
2844
66.0
2410
64.4
3045
62.6
Sand (FSUP)
1210
84.3
987
85.4
1109
80.5
1242
86.5
Sand (HSLP)
1480
122.4
1420
104.0
1611
118.3
1571
120.5
Sandy-clay base
Wd = 52.4 m
Wd = 52 m
Wd = 51.2 m
Wd = 53.4 m
82
The Causes and the Control of Selective Pollution of Shallow Wells by Coliform Bacteria, Imo River Basin
monitoring of coliform pollution but will enable proper assessment of trace metal fate and transport from the mechanic
villages to groundwater. This will enhance water quality research in the area considering the difficulty encountered in
the process of obtaining water samples from private wells in
this study. Well owners do not comply with sampling their
well water for research purpose, and this attitude not only
frustrates the research effort of the scholars, but could introduce sampling errors in the process. However, water quality analysis of each of these wells is recommended annually
soon after the rain season, to save consumers of the water
from long-term exposure to water of poor quality, and this
can only be achieved if water-quality monitoring wells are
installed.
Pre-drilling electrical resistivity survey of a proposed
well site is very much recommended to save the cost. The
cost of water treatment due to total drill depth that is less
than the recommended safe depth is much of a disaster, compared to one run of VES which may cost about $300400
in the study area. The total cost of 80 m deep water well
to completion, including installations, but not with storage facility and reticulations by manual driven method is
about $3000. A medium drill rig will cost about $6500 for
the same 80 m deep well classified as medium well, with
chances of recovering the entire drill depth for casing. Most
of the shallow wells are constructed by individuals who cannot afford the cost of contracting a drilling team with adequate drilling tools. Water produced from the polluted wells
needs to be treated with a disinfectant such as chlorine before it can be used for drinking and other domestic purposes.
In the absence of proper and regular treatment, more polluted wells with CF 4070/100 ml of water may be closed
from further use.
Transit grazing is to be regulated in the area, so that grazing near stream banks and near residential areas may be prohibited. Proprietors of mechanic villages (the government)
should be required by law to provide toilet facilities in mechanic villages even if it required the inhabitants of the villages to foot the cost directly or indirectly. A law prohibiting
open-air defecation on arable land is not out of place, however such law may be difficult to enforce in the area due
to the absence of public toilet facilities. Public places, most
essentially the mechanic villages and the open markets, deserve standard public toilet facilities as a priority. Other public places such as gas stations, churches, supermarkets and
streets are to have public toilet facilities maintained and supervised regularly. A lot depends on public awareness and
education of the masses, particularly the policy makers. The
practice of mechanic village concept must be environmentally friendly to be sustainable. Already heavy metal pollution of soil within and around mechanic villages is moderate
to excessive, due to poor waste management (Nwachukwu et
al. 2010a). The ecological and public health hazards associated with this are yet to be properly documented. Adding
83
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