Access to healthy and wholesome drinking water sources in rural communities in Nigeria and around the world has become increasingly concerning. This study was designed to assess the microbiological qualities of drinking water sources in Umudi. Three samples were collected and transported to the laboratory at Hezekiah University, Umudi, Imo State. Measurements included total coliform count, heterotrophic bacterial count, fungal count, coliform counts, and Salmonella-Shigella count. Biochemical tests, as well as morphological and microscopic analyses, were employed to identify the bacterial and fungal isolates. The total coliform count was 10 and 30 MPN/100mL for B-sachet water and the university borehole, respectively. The total heterotrophic count ranged from 4.3 Log CFU/ml to 6.0 Log CFU/mL, while fungal counts ranged from 3.0 Log CFU/mL to 4.54 Log CFU/ml. The tentative identities of the isolates obtained were E. coli, Pseudomonas sp., Proteus sp., Staphylococcus sp., and Shigella sp., with Staphylococcus sp. and E. coli being the most frequently encountered. The fungi observed included Candida sp., Aspergillus sp., Fusarium sp., and Penicillium sp. There is an urgent need for university management to address this issue of drinking water pollution, as it may contribute to downtime experienced by staff and students; the university must inform sachet water producers of the importance of conducting source-tracking of water aquifer pollution, and government agencies should be encouraged to regulate activities of water packaging companies.

Keywords: Accessibility, Potabilis, Nkwerre, Microbiological evaluation, Government, Biochemical test, Potable water, Coliform, Ishiala-Umudi.

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Source of Funding:

This study received no specific grant from any funding agency in the public, commercial, or not-for-profit sectors.

Competing Interests Statement:

The authors declare that they have no competing interests related to this work.

Consent for publication:

The authors declare that they consented to the publication of this study.

Authors' contributions:

All the authors took part in literature review, analysis, and manuscript writing equally.

Availability of data and materials:

Supplementary information is available from the authors upon reasonable request.

Institutional Review Board Statement:

Not applicable for this study.

Informed Consent:

Not applicable for this study.