www.ejbps.com │ Vol 12, Issue 8, 2025. │ ISO 9001:2015 Certified Journal │ Otuadinma et al. European Journal of Biomedical and Pharmaceutical Sciences 65 PREVALENCE OF BACTERIA ISOLATED FROM STORAGE WATER TANKS AT URUAGWU COMMUNITY IN NNEWI NORTH LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA, ANAMBRA STATE Rita Ngozi Otuadinma 1 , Justina Chimezie Akulue, U.F. Onwuasoanya 2 and Emmanuel Ifeanyi Obeagu* 3 1 Department of Microbiology Faculty of Natural Sciences Chukwuemeka Odumegwu Ojukwu University, Uli, Anambra State Nigeria. 2 Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medical Laboratory Science, Nnamdi Azikiwe University, Nnwei Campus, Anambra State, Nigeria. 3 Department of Biomedical and Laboratory Science, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe. Article Received on 04/06/2025 Article Revised on 25/06/2025 Article Accepted on 14/07/2025 INTRODUCTION Water is absolutely essential to life, not only human life but all form of living thing, animal and plants alike. Most of the biochemical reaction that occur in metabolism and growth of living cells involve water. [1] Water use has been growing at a rate more than twice of population increase in the last century. Currently in the world, six million people only have access to freshwater contained in rivers, lakes and underground aquifers World Water Assessment Programme. [2] The available fresh waters are usuallypolluted by anthropogenic factors and as a result reducing the availability of potable water. [3] The quality of water is becoming a major concern these days as shown by frequent outbreaks of water borne diseases in both rural and urban areas of developing countries. Water borne diseases are still a major health burden in many parts of the world and estimated to cause about 842,000 diarrhea disease deaths per year World Health Organization. [4] Also, according to some reports, 883 million people don’t have access to clean and safe water out of which 37% of those people inhabit in Sub-Saharan Africa United Nations International Children’s Emergency Fund. [5] Safe drinking water is defined as water with microbial, chemical and physical characteristics that met WHO guidelines. Drinking water that has been contaminated microbiologically can spread diseases like typhoid, diarrhea, dysentery, poliomyelitis and cholera with such type of water attributing to 485,000 diarrhea-related deaths yearly (World Health Organization. [6] This same author further reports that up to 2 billion people have been linked with using water contaminated with feces as a source of drinking water in the world generally. Example, the report by microbial guidelines stated that coliform bacteria should not be present in 100 mls water SJIF Impact Factor 7.482 Research Article ejbps, 2025, Volume 12, Issue 8, 65-69. European Journal of Biomedical AND Pharmaceutical sciences http://www.ejbps.com ISSN 2349-8870 Volume: 12 Issue: 8 Year: 2025 *Corresponding Author: Emmanuel Ifeanyi Obeagu Department of Biomedical and Laboratory Science, Africa University, Mutare, Zimbabwe. ABSTRACT Access to safe drinking water remains a significant public health challenge in many rural communities. In Uruagu, water is primarily sourced from boreholes and rainwater, both stored in overhead rubber tanks. This study investigated the prevalence of bacterial contaminants in these storage systems to assess potential health risks. Water samples were collected from borehole and rainwater storage tanks in the Uruagu community. Standard microbiological techniques were employed to isolate and identify bacterial species. The percentage distribution of each bacterial isolate was calculated and compared across the two water sources. The most frequently isolated bacteria from both water sources were coliforms. "Other coliforms" showed the highest distribution with 62.3% in borehole water and 37.1% in rainwater. Escherichia coli followed, with 20.4% in borehole water and a significantly higher 53.0% in rainwater. Clostridium perfringens was found in 16.7% and 9.1% of borehole and rainwater samples, respectively. Streptococcus faecalis showed the lowest prevalence, occurring in only 0.92% of borehole and 8.3% of rainwater samples. The presence of fecal indicators such as E. coli, C. perfringens, and S. faecalis in stored water highlights substantial contamination and a potential public health threat. These findings underscore the need for improved water storage hygiene, routine microbial surveillance, and community education on safe water practices in Uruagu and similar settings. KEYWORDS: Water quality, Bacterial contamination, Storage tanks, Fecal indicators, Public health.