Assessment of Wastewater Management and Health Impacts in African Secondary Cities: Case of Dimbokro (Côte D’Ivoire)

Abstract

The majority of population growth in developing countries will occur in secondary cities where there is limited access to clean water and sanitation. Wastewater management priorities in these cities will be different from those in larger cities and developed countries. For this reason, it is important to assess wastewater management in these cities of sub-Saharan Africa. This study assessed clean water supply, wastewater and faecal sludge management and associated health risks in Dimbokro, C?te D’Ivoire. The study was performed in March 2015 in 12 neighborhoods with a total of 703 households. In these neighborhoods, the questions were addressed and discussed with household head. The study revealed that the households of the city were structured on three topology habitats: residential (5%), economic (42%) and evolutive or yards housing (53%). For water supply, 99.4% of the households used water from SODECI, the local public water supply network, while the remaining 0.6% of surveyed household obtained water from wells. Domestic wastewater, used for doing laundry, dishwashing and showering, was disposed of in the following ways: directly into the street (33%), septic tank (23%), backyards (18%), storm drain (16%), sewer network (6%), pit latrine (3%) or into soakaway (2%). In addition, untreated wastewater was sometimes discharged into the N’Ziriver by certain households. 52% of households surveyed emptied latrines manually and 48 % used mechanic drain services. The most frequent diseases occurring in the households were Malaria (63%), Diarrhoea (13%) and Typhoid fever (9%) in the households of the city. In the light of this study, the municipal authorities of Dimbokro should provide the city with wastewater systems that drain to a central outlet system where the waste-water can be easily treated before final disposal for reuse in agriculture.