• Haneefat Olabimpe Egberongbe
  Department of Microbiology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria.
  




• Hafeez Aderinsayo, Adekola
  Department of Microbiology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria.
  




• Adijat Olabisi Atayese
  2 Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Agriculture, Nigeria
  




• Ikimot Adesola Azeez
  Department of Biological Sciences, Tai Solarin University of Education, Nigeria
  




• Adams Oladapo Adewale
  Department of Microbiology, Lagos State University, Nigeria
  




• Omolara Dorcas Popoola
  Department of Microbiology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria.
  




• Oluwatimileyin Joseph Akinbola
  Department of Microbiology, Olabisi Onabanjo University, Nigeria.
  

Lack of clean water in developing countries creates an enormous rnhealth concern, resulting in a variety of severe diseases such as rndiarrhea. This study evaluated the performance of four frequently used rnwater treatment methods in Southwest Nigeria: boiling, rnsedimentation, alum treatment, and water guard. Groundwater rnsamples were collected and analyzed for physicochemical and rnbacterial loads and characterization before and after treatment. The rnstudy found an average turbidity level of 10 NTU, electrical rnconductivity (EC) of 484 µS/cm, total dissolved solids of 40 mg/L, rnbiochemical oxygen demand of 3.8 mg/L, chemical oxygen demand of rn48 mg/L, total hardness of 13.16 mg/L, and nitrate content of 0.989 rnmg/L. Untreated groundwater samples had bacterial loads ranging rn6rn 6rn from 1.37x10 cfu/mL to 2.57x10 cfu/mL. Bacterial species identified rnare: Escherichia coli, Staphylococcus aureus, Pseudomonas spp., rnProteus mirabilis, Shigella spp., Salmonella spp., and Klebsiella spp. rnFollowing treatment, water guard treatment showed the lowest rnbacteria load across the water sampled, followed by boiling, alum rntreatment, and sedimentation. Although water guard treatment has rnbeen proven as very effective for drinking and household water use, rnusing different disinfection methods concurrently may improve rnoverall water safety