Global Journal of Science Frontier Research, H: Environment & Earth Science, Volume 23 Issue 2

tal to humans but is generally associated with high pH values, hardness and excess dissolved solids. High al- kalinity waters may also have a distinctly unpleasant taste. This is because such waters may excessively hard or may contain high amounts of sodium chlorides [33]. Alkalinity has no health standards, however, concentra- tions between 30-400 mg CaCO3/L is preferred for do- mestic drinking water supply. Table 3: Mean Values of Physico-Chemical Parameters and Nutrients Analyzed for Dam Water in Nalerigu February, 2023 Sample Point Total Alkalinity mg/L Phenolphthale in Al- kalinity mg/L Methyl Orange Alka- linity mg/L Conductivity μ S/cm WHO LIMIT 0-500.00 0-500.00 1000 Sample Point A 22.00 0 22.00 70.50 Sample Point B 23.00 0 23.00 68.80 Sample Point C 20.00 0 20.00 68.70 viii. Total Iron The total iron (II) concentration ranged from 0.44-0.63 mg/L with the highest value occurring at sam- ple point A which is within the WHO recommended limit of 0.01-1.00 mg/L. The lowest value of 0.44 mg/L oc- curred at sample point B. Drinking water 0.1 – 1.00 mg/L of iron concen- tration has very slight effects on taste and other aesthet- ic effects such as deposits in plumbing materials and associated problems occurring. Iron concentration rang- ing from 0.3-1.0 mg/L has adverse aesthetic effects (taste) and a gradual increase in the possibility of prob- lems with plumbing. There are however no health effects associated with it. b) Microbiological quality of the dam water analyzed The result obtained for the microbial analysis indicated that the water samples from sample points A, B and C were not free from faecal coliforms (faecal con- tamination). These samples show that the dam water without processing is not fit for drinking and domestic purposes because the sample points A, B and C had faecal coliform counts of 23, 43 and 20cfu/1mL respec- tively which is not in conformity with the set standards by [32] which says no water sample should contain faecal coliform in any 100 ml of water sample. However, the presence of faecal coliform count (Table 4) in the sam- ples may be attributed to either proximity of open defe- cation to the dam at a distance less than 30 m as rec- ommended by WHO or the general unhygienic environ- ment surrounding the dam. The contamination even though may be small could also be attributed to in- creased infiltration during the wet season. Therefore, there is the need to boil and filter this water for clarity before drinking. The results however suggest that the general sanitary conditions around the dam were not very good. Table 4: Showing Test for Microbiological Properties of Dam Water Samples Sample Point Total Coliforms cfu/1ml Faecal Coliforms cfu/1ml WHO Limit 0.00 0.00 Sample Point A Positive 69.00 Positive 23 Sample Point B Positive 106.00 Positive 43 Sample Point C Positive 70.00 Positive 20 c) Sociodemographic Results from the Study The number questionnaire administered was 99 and indicates the percentages of males (44%) and fe- males (56%) who responded to the questionnaires. The response from the respondents was 100% for the access to water to all the households interviewed, indi- cating that every household interviewed had access to water.The responses from the administration of the questionnaires showed that close to half of the inter- viewed households (48%) representing the largest num- ber depend on the dam as their main source of water, 36% depend on boreholes as their source of water and 8% each depend on hand dug well and pipe borne wa- ter respectively.The response from the questionnaires showed that the various households employ various ways to treat their water to make it safe for consumption. The responses from the questionnaire revealed that a larger number of the interviewed households representing 76.0% had no toilet facilities at their homes and only 24% had toilet facilities at home. Those without toilet facilities at home either use public toilets or do open defecation. Responses from how the various households disposed off their rubbish indicated that 78% of the households dispose their waste through burning whiles 22% disposed theirs through dumping the waste at dump sites. The multiple use of the dam by the various households interviewed is shown in the table 5. 1 Year 2023 83 © 2023 Global Journals Global Journal of Science Frontier Research Volume XXIII Issue ersion I VII ( H ) Assessment of Water Quality of the Nalerigu Dam in the East Mamprusi Municipality of the North East Region of Ghana