Profiling of Physico-chemical characteristics of water sources used for drinking and processing in Isiolo county in Kenya

Water quality, wholesomeness and palatability is usually influenced by the level of dissolved minerals as well as the physical appearance of color, turbidity and suspended matter. Climatic conditions and changes in the hydrological cycles have been reported to alter the physico-chemical attributes of water exposing the end users to health risks. Forty four water samples were purposively sampled aseptically and analyzed as per ISO procedures for electrical conductivity, color, pH, hardness, turbidity, and magnesium and calcium ions concentration. Means and Pearson correlation were compared at 5 % level of significance. Results show that highest and lowest total hardness values were 638.5 mg/l and 138.5 mg/l for borehole and tap water respectively. Calcium and magnesium ions mean values were 33.92 mg/l and 68.43 mg/l. Rain water had the lowest pH of 3.4. Pan water had the highest turbidity of 3026 NTU while borehole water had the lowest turbidity of 0.8 NTU. Mean value range for electrical conductivity and color were 139 µS/cm to 454 µS/cm and 13 TCU to 280 TCU respectively. Physico-chemical properties significantly differed (p≤0.05) across the water sources.