Vol. 13(30), pp. 675-682, December, 2019 DOI: 10.5897/AJMR2019.9225 Article Number: FC0B50A62438 ISSN: 1996-0808 Copyright ©2019 Author(s) retain the copyright of this article http://www.academicjournals.org/AJMR African Journal of Microbiology Research Full Length Research Paper Assessment of bacteriological quality of water sources from an agrarian settlement in South-East Nigeria Emmanuel lkechukwu Nnamonu 1* , Felix Joel Ugwu 1 , Obiageli Constance Ejilibe 1 , Ogonna Christiana Ani 2 , Paul Emenike Martins 3 , Samuel Osemedua Onyeidu 4 and Blessing Uchechukwu Onyeidu 5 1 Department of Biology, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu State, Nigeria. 2 Department of Applied Biology, Ebonyi State University Abakaliki, Ebonyi State, Nigeria. 3 Environmental Pollution Control, Faculty of Environmental and Life Sciences, University of Southampton, Highfield Campus, Southampton, Hampshire, SO17 1BJ, United Kingdom. 4 Department of Information and Communication Technology, ICT University Yaounde, Cameroon. 5 Department of Home Economics, Federal College of Education, Eha-Amufu, Enugu State, Nigeria. Received 11 October, 2019; Accepted 14 November, 2019 This study assessed the bacteriological quality of groundwater, rainwater and surface water sourced from an agrarian settlement in South-eastern Nigeria. Agamede, Amede, Ihenyi, Mgbuji and Umuhu communities in Eha-Amufu served as sampling locations. Samples were sourced from River Ebenyi, hand-dug wells and rooftop harvested rainwater. Bacterial isolation, identification and enumeration followed standard methods. Coliform counts were above WHO permissible standard except groundwater sourced at Mgbuji. Whereas a significant difference occurred in the means of coliform counts of lactose-fermenters (LF) of groundwater and rainwater, no significant difference occurred among non-lactose fermenters (NLF) across all locations. There was no significant difference between the mean coliform colony count of LF and NLF across surface water in different locations. Bayesian Paired Samples T-Test and Post-Hoc showed no significant difference in the total colony count of LF and NLF coliforms and means of total colony count between and within water sources across stations. However, the mean total coliform count in rainwater was the highest. Our results demonstrate that water sources from the agrarian settlements were contaminated by coliforms whilst settlers and others that consume them via drinking and domestic purposes are vulnerable, especially the aged, children and immunocompromised. Key words: Water quality, bacteriology, agrarian settlement, coliform. INTRODUCTION Comparatively, escalating demands for potable drinking water exist in urban than rural settlements because most people in rural settlements (especially agrarian settlements) consume poor quality and contaminated water out of ignorance of the huge public health implications. Quality water is cardinal to the survival, *Corresponding author. E-mail: nnamonue@gmail.com. Tel: +2348064855635. Author(s) agree that this article remain permanently open access under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License 4.0 International License