Bacteriological assessment of dug well water in rural areas of Bangladesh

This study assessed the bacteriological quality of dug well waters from Jashore district – an arsenic affected area of Bangladesh. A total of 58 dug wells (42 installed by a government organization (GO) and 16 installed by a non-government organization (NGO)) were sampled in the dry and wet seasons. The samples were evaluated for total coliform (TC), faecal coliform (FC) and Escherichia coli (E. coli). Sanitary inspections of the surroundings of the GO-installed dug wells identified the sources of faecal contamination. Both the GO-installed and NGO-installed dug wells had bacterial contamination. The median concentrations of E. coli among the GO-installed and NGO-installed dug wells were, respectively, 41 and 21 cfu/100 ml in the wet season, and respectively 2 and <1 cfu/100 ml in the dry season. In the wet season, 24 and 31%, respectively, of the GO-installed and NGO-installed dug wells were in the high-risk category. All of the dug wells had higher disease burden in the wet season compared to the dry season. The ndings suggest that drinking water from the dug wells is likely to pose health risks to the rural communities.