Microbiological Quality of Marketed Drinking Water in Gaza City

Water shortage is one of the most serious problems in the world today. Gaza Strip is not excluded; it especially suffers from severe water shortage. Microbiological quality of water in Gaza Strip is dramatically poor. Therefore, this study aims to investigate the microbiological quality of the different types of marketed drinking water available in Gaza city. Study population consists of 20 samples collected from desalination plants, 12 samples collected from water vehicle tankers, 25 samples from water distribution points, and 12 samples from water locally bottled in Gaza. An experimental design has been  used to verify water microbiological quality by using Membrane Filtration Technique for detection of both total and fecal coliforms , Pseudomonas aeruginosa, and fungi (molds and yeasts) respectively.

The results indicate that there is contamination with total coliforms, fecal coliforms, Pseudomonas aeruginosa , yeasts and molds in samples collected from desalination plants, water vehicle tankers and water distribution points. The bottled water samples are free of total coliforms, fecal coliforms, yeasts and molds, meanwhile the bottled water samples after three months storing are free of fecal coliforms, yeasts and molds .

Keywords: Drinking water, Gaza city, Microbial contamination, Coliform, Pseudomonas, Fungi.