Author(s) :

Berlly Massanza Mboma Kahula, Willy Swana Lusasi, Lionel Tsotsa Asamboa, Georges Mbana Bundu, Odette Ngandu Kabena, Victor Kiamfu Pwema, Jeff Bekomo Iteku.

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Abstract :

Access to safe drinking water remains a key challenge in developing countries such as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. The aim of this study is to determine the basic physico-chemical and microbiological quality of water from six springs in the Luniungu area, Bulungu territory, in Kwilu province, DR Congo; with a view to assessing the potability of the drinking water consumed by the local population. Data collection took place over a two-year period between 2024 and 2025, during which the physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of the water were analysed both in situ and ex situ during the dry and rainy seasons. The results show that the water from the six springs surveyed during this study is of poor quality, based on the standards set by the WHO for drinking water. Conductivity is higher during the rainy season than during the dry season; the water from the Bengi spring (with 91.2±1.04 µS/cm in the rainy season and 86.8±0.64 µS/cm in the dry season) has the highest peak conductivity of all the springs. The pH ranges from 3.17±0.00 in the Luniungu spring during the dry season to 5.09±0.00 in the Kiyaka 1 spring during the rainy season, and remains well below the guideline values (pH between 6.5 and 8.5) recommended by the WHO. High concentrations of nitrate ions were recorded in the Bengi spring (20.51±0.01 mg/L during the dry season), whilst low concentrations were found in the Kiyaka 1 spring (10.02±0.07 mg/L during the dry season). The water from the six springs analysed has high microbial loads, which is completely at odds with the quality requirements established by the WHO for drinking water. The total microbial load (Escherichia coli, Proteus sp, Salmonella sp, Shigella sp, Staphylococcus aureus, S. epidermidis, S. saprophytis, Pseudomonas sp, moulds, total bacteria and mesophilic bacteria) isolated during this study from the water of the six springs remains very high during both the rainy and dry seasons, with a predominance of Escherichia coli, particularly in the water from the Kiyaka 1 and Kiyaka 2 springs. It is likely that the contamination of the spring water is linked to human and animal faeces

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