Bacteriological And Physicochemical Assessment Of Drinking Water Quality In District 5,Kabul City,Afghanistan

Kabul is the largest city,home to 4.5 million people and capital of Afghanistan It is located at 34°32' North,69° 10' East with an elevation of 1800 meters from the sea level and covers 4583 square Kilometers of land It is bounded by towering mountains which has a cold semi-aired climate.Kabul is a densely populated city with improper drinking water distribution system that gave raise to water borne diseases and deaths.It is necessary to assess the water quality of the city district wise.District five of Kabul city is one of the district which seriously affected by water-borne diseases.During our work(August 2016 to January 2017)total 60 water samples were collected from four drinking water sources(Karez,open well,tap water and hand pump well)located at different points and were tested for physical,chemical and biological parameters.Physical and chemical analyses were performed according to the Standard Methods while bacterial analysis was performed by using Wagtech potatest single incubator test kit and MF method.The results obtained were compared with WHO and ANSA standards for drinking water quality.The study showed that physical parameters were within acceptable limits for Karez,Open well and tap,however,color,taste,odor and turbidity values have crossed the recommended standard limits for hand pump well.All analyzed chemical parameters were within permissible limits recommended by WHO/ANSA.Bacteriological analysis showed worse Figs in relatively hot conditions for total coliform and fecal coliform.Bacteriological contamination reveals the mixing of the sewage water with drinking water due to expired corroded pipes and discharge of waste water to the ground water.For achieving better water quality coordination between government and public must be strength,government should install and maintain a water distribution network in district five,it should be obligatory on people to consider an appropriate distance between septic tanks and well,and public awareness should be increase that drinking water should be boiled before intake.