Effect of Storage Containers on the Microbial Load of Domestic Water from Three Sources Treated with Moringa oleifera and Citrullus lanatus Seed Powders

Aim: The effect of storage containers on the microbial load of domestic water from three sources treated with Moringa oleifera and Citrullus lanatus seed powders in Lekwesi, Abia State was assessed. Study Design: The jar test method was used for the treatments. One gram (1.0g) each of the plant seed (Moringa oleifera and water melon seeds) was weighed and was added separately into 1000 ml of water samples in the different storage containers (clay lined pots, iron/steel tanks and polypyrene plastic drums, respectively). The mixture was stirred rapidly for 3 minutes and allowed to stand undisturbed for 1 hour, after which the top water was decanted. Place and Duration of Study: Advanced Research Laboratory, Department of Microbiology, Gregory University Uturu, from May to July, 2018. Methodology: Tenfold serial dilutions was used for processing of all the water samples, after which the volume of exactly 0.5ml of the water sample was planted on the media using the spread plate method and incubated appropriately and other standard microbiological methods were employed to determine microbial loads. Results: The river water samples had the highest microbial load of 1.2x103-2.0x108cfu/ml and were reduced to 1.8x107cfu/ml and 1.8x108cfu/ml by M. oleifera and C. lanatus seed powders after an hour of storage respectively. The well water samples had the least microbial counts of 0.9 x101-1.2 x104 cfu/ml, and were reduced to 0.5x101cfu/ml and 5.9 x103cfu/ml by M. oleifera and C. lanatus seed powders respectively.  The potential pathogenic bacteria (TPPB) were reduced to 3.0 x102cfu/ml by M. oleifera, while C. lanatus was unable to reduce the TPPB after an hour. The microbial load decreased constantly within 24h in the various storage containers (steel, clay and plastic), but increased steadily from 72h to the 336h of post storage. The clay-lined and iron-steel pots maintained the same microbial counts after 4h post storage, but differed significantly after 24h, while the polypyrene plastic drum had the highest microbial count. There was absence of TPPB and Total Faecal Coliform Count (TFCC) in the well water samples after the treatment with M. oleifera. Conclusion: M. oleifera was found to be a better water treatment than C. lanatus, while the clay-lined pot served as the best domestic water storage container.