Table 6.
Overall mean values of physical characteristics of rural community drinking water samples from both unprotected and protected sources.
| Physical | Water sample sources | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Parameters | Unprotected well | Unprotected spring | Protected well | Protected spring | p value |
|
| |||||
| Temp (°C) | 21.98 ± 1.32a | 21.77 ± 1.12a | 21.54 ± 1.2a | 21.13 ± 0.76a | >0.05 |
| pH | 6.28 ± 0.25b | 6.71 ± 0.35a | 6.33 ± 0.2b | 6.12 ± 0.40b | <0.01 |
| EC (μS/cm) | 445.63 ± 64.42a | 305.54 ± 73.1b | 352.54 ± 40.5b | 431.75 ± 69.32a | <0.01 |
| Turbidity (NTU) | 4.23 ± 1.94a | 4.16 ± 0.95a | 3.76 ± 0.87a | 3.74 ± 0.90a | >0.05 |
| Color (Pt. Co) | 13.13 ± 1.17a | 2.7.9 ± 1.33a | 10.67 ± 1.57b | 9.79 ± 1.88b | <0.01 |
| TDS (mg/L) | 260.58 ± 47.17a | 186.79 ± 26.6b | 209.54 ± 19.8b | 248.08 ± 40.77a | <0.01 |
Data are average of triplicates; SE: standard error; numbers indicated by the same letter superscripts within the same row do not vary significantly by Duncan's multiple range test at p < 0.05, TDS: total dissolved solids; EC: electrical conductivity.