Bacteriological analysis of leachate at dumping sites of some selected areas in Damaturu Yobe State, Nigeria

Abstract

Assessing surface and groundwater quality and developing strategies to protect aquifers from contamination are necessary for proper planning and designing water resources. Therefore, this study aimed to assess the bacterial load of leachate in surface water and soil sediment at dumping sites of Nayinawa and Babban-Tsangaya, Damaturu, Yobe State. Simple random sampling was used for sample collection. Bacteriological determination was done through aerobic mesophilic bacterial count, bacteria gram staining most probable number (MPN) counting and biochemical test. Bacteriological quality determination revealed high contamination level of the samples for bacterial colony count (6.14×10⁶ cfu), MPN (387.6 ml) and Gram staining (all negative). Biochemical confirmatory test revealed that for water and soil sediment in both months, catalase and coagulase were positive, urease, citrate and oxidase are negative. The development and application of integrated leachate treatment process of different physical, biological and chemical technologies could be a suitable option to reduce the contamination levels of the leachate. This study revealed that water from the study areas (Nayinawa and Babban-Tsangaya) has significant levels of bacterial load which poses a serious health risk to the people in the area.