Assessment of physical conditions and proposed best management practices of domestic storage tanks supplied by a water utility in a rapidly growing city

Abstract

The physical conditions of domestic storage tanks for customers supplied by a water utility were assessed in Kampala, a rapidly growing City in Uganda. A longitudinal assessment of 372 storage tanks in 6 sampled administrative Wards with a minimum of 6 samples collected from each site in both wet (March-May) and dry (June-August) months of 2017 was carried out. A set of guiding questions were used to establish tank conditions with a YES or NO response and a range of low to critical risk rating. It was revealed that there was a statistically significant relationship (p=0.001) between tank physical conditions and quality of stored water. Two of six Wards in the City had high levels of water contamination related to domestic water storage tanks with poor sanitary conditions and contaminated water with E. coli. The study therefore revealed that the physical conditions and management of domestic water storage tanks have an effect on water quality. This is important information for a water utility as it means that it is not enough to supply safe water if the quality may deteriorate upon storage at the consumer premises. A routine inspection checklist and consumer guidelines for domestic storage tank management are proposed.