The Status of Domestic Water from Six Selected Areas of Coastal Guyana

The domestic water from six selected areas of coastal Guyana, Corriverton, Cummings Lodge, Non-Pariel, Wismar, Georgetown and Vreedenhoop were tested for the presence of selected metal ions such as Cd, Al, Fe, Pb, Cu and Zn in addition to its physical parameters of turbidity, salinity, total dissolved solids, TDS, temperature, Electrical conductivity, EC and pH. It’s necessary that residents in these areas become aware of the concentration of these selected ions so as to protect their lives. The results indicate that the domestic water from Georgetown showed the highest value of 0.02 ± 0.00 mg/L for Cd whereas there was no detection for Non-Pariel and Wismar domestic water. Georgetown domestic water also registered the highest for Al (0.2 ± 0.27 mg/L). Fe recorded its highest value of 2.99 ± 0.01 mg/L for Non-Pariel domestic water, whereas there was no detection of lead in all the water with the exception of Corriverton domestic water which showed a value of 0.48 ± 0.4 mg/L. Cu and Zn registered its highest value for Corriverton domestic water with values of 0.02 ± 0.0 mg/L and 0.07 ± 0.02 mg/L respectively. These values, with the exception of Al, Cu and Zn are all higher than the WHO standards for drinking water. The WHO standards for the presence of Cd, Al, Fe, Pb, Cu and Zn in domestic water is 0.005 mg/L, 0.2 mg/L, 0.3 mg/L 0.05 mg/L, 2.0 mg/L and 5.0 mg/L respectively. The pH of the domestic water range from 5.66 to 7.2, whereas the salinity ranges from 28 ppm to 318 ppm. The latter was observed for Corriverton domestic water. TDS registered its highest value of 461 mg/L for Corriverton domestic water, whereas the lowest value of 42±0.00 mg/L was registered for Vreedenhoop water. Where the values are higher (Cd, Fe, Pd) than WHO standards, steps should be taken to rectify the situation and protect the livelihood of its citizen.