Assessment of Drinking Water Quality in Northern Ethiopia Rural Area: A Case Study of Farta District, South Gondar Zone

Access to safe drinking water remains a fundamental issue in rural areas of Ethiopia. This study aimed to evaluate the physicochemical and bacteriological quality of drinking water at protected sources in the Farta district, South Gondar Zone, Ethiopia. The study covered 16 rural Kebeles and was conducted on 75 protected dug wells with hand pumps (HDWs) and 17 protected springs (PSs). Data were collected during the wet and dry season, and field measurement were conducted on water samples pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity, and temperature, while laboratory analysis focused on E. coli prevalence. Additionally, sanitary risk assessment was also performed. The result showed that, the pH values ranged from 5.4 to 8.1, turbidity levels varied between 0 to 100 nephelometric turbidity unit (NTU), electric conductivity ranged from 62 to 584 µS/cm, and temperature ranged from 12.1 to 27 °C. Among all the samples, 39.1% had a pH below the minimum standard value of 6.5, close to 50.5% did not meet the turbidity requirement (5NTU), and all samples were safe against electric conductivity levels. The E. coli contamination was widespread, and only a small percentage of water sources, such as 21.7% HDWs, 6.7% PSs during dry season, and 13% HDWs during wet season were negative to E. coli detection. A significant proportion of water sources, such as 18% HDWs and 13% PSs during dry season, as well as 44.9% HDWs and 46.7% PSs during wet season, fell into the high microbial health risk category. Sanitary inspections revealed that only 16.7% of water sources were classified as low sanitary risk. This study revealed that majority of water sources were unfit to drinking and may endanger the public health. To ensure safe water availability frequent cleaning and disinfection of water sources, implementation of household water treatment, and improvement of WASH (water, sanitation and hygiene) infrastructure is needed.