ABSTRACT      

The issue of water quality has been a night mare to the inhabitants of Foumbot. Here, the problem is that, the quality and quantity of water poses public health problem due to the prevalence of water borne diseases in the locality. Most of the available water sources have been contaminated through both the natural and the anthropogenic activities. This study aimed to investigate water quality and its implication on public health risk in Foumbot town. Water test was carried out for six sample sources in the locality. Health Data were obtained from the hospital. Using a detailed literature review, and field investigations and interview were also done. Result of water test reveal that two samples had no risk out of the six and there is a prevalence of water borne diseases such as diarrhea 26.65%, Typhoid 26.32%, dysentery 12.42%, and sink diseases 34.62% in Foumbot.

Result reveal that the application of chemical fertilizers on farming zones near sources of water catchments, digging of opened pit toilets near water sources, creation of opened waste dumped areas close to water sources, flooding during torrential rain, change in climate condition and domestic activities are  responsible  for water contamination in the  Foumbot  locality. These have greatly affected the population of Foumbot as most of them become vulnerable to typhoid, rheumatism, malaria, and other water borne diseases. This has resulted to poor health condition and consequently, high infant mortality in this area. This situation is further complicated by the irregular maintenance of drainage infrastructure, limited financial and human capacity, poor land-use planning. The population should be educated on the use of local treatment methods such as boiling, filtrations and most importantly on the    use of sodium hydrochloride in   the   treatment. More so, further study can be   done on spatios-temporal analysis of waterborne prevalence within the area