Water is one of the most abundant resources on which life on earth depends; in some places, availability of water is critical, limited and renewable. Shortage of water could lead to disease outbreak and economic loss, hence water is a necessity, it is a unique liquid and without it life is impossible. Water plays a vital role in the proper functioning of the earth’s ecosystem. Man uses water for various purposes which include drinking, transportation, industrial and domestic use, irrigation in agriculture recreation, fisheries, and waste disposal among others. Contaminated water sources are vehicles for the transport of waterborne diseases such as cholera, shigellosis and Campylobacteriosis. A comparative study was carried out to determine the quality of two water sources: tap water and stream water. Seven tap and three stream water samples were collected and the serial dilution method was used. The water sources were assessed for microbiological quality. It was revealed that the stream water has the highest contaminant and has a higher microbial load than the tap water. The total viable counts for the tap water ranges from 98 cfu/m3 -300 cfu/m3 , coliform count is from 110 cfu/100 mL -298 cfu/100 mL, Salmonella-Shigella count was present in some samples while it was absent in some of the tap water samples. For the stream water, the total viable count ranges from 287 cfu/m3 -300 cfu/m3 , coliform count is from 200 cfu/100 mL -358 cfu/100 mL, while salmonella-shigella count showed positive in all the samples. Seven bacteria were isolated from all the samples which are Staphylococcus aureus, Escherichia coli, Salmonella typhi, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Bacillus cereus, Citrobacter spp and Proteus mirabilis. The prevalent microbe is Pseudomonas aeruginosa with a frequency of 5 followed by Escherichia coli with a frequency of 4, while seven fungi were also isolated from the water samples which are Aspergillus niger, Mucor spp., Alternarian spp., Penicillium spp., Aspergillus fumigates, Aspergillus flavus and Epidermophyton spp. It is concluded that both water samples contain pathogenic organisms that can lead to water diseases if not monitored properly.
