Effect of sanitation facilities, domestic solid waste disposal and hygiene practices on water quality in Malawi’s urban poor areas: a case study of South Lunzu Township in the city of Blantyre

Abstract

Household water supply problems remain one of the major challenges facing developing countries. In Malawi, there is lack of documentation on the levels and causes of water pollution particularly in peri-urban areas so that meaningful interventions can be adopted. Therefore, a study was carried out in South Lunzu Township a peri-urban area in the city of Blantyre.The study revealed that the major form of sewerage disposal is the on-site sanitation system where about 58.8% of the respondents use traditional pit latrine while in terms of solid waste disposal, the Blantyre City Assembly which is responsible for solid waste collection, has only two collection vans to cater for more than half a million residents (Blantyre City Assembly, 1999. Urban Structure Plan, Draft Background Report, Blantyre.) hence indiscriminate disposal rampant in the area.Water samples collected from the major sources of domestic water supply showed that there are variations in the levels of water pollution between the ground water and surface water sources and between the wet and dry season. For instance, physically, the ground water turbidity levels were in the range of 2–12 mg/l during the dry season but increased to a maximum of 114 mg/l during the wet season while for surface water the turbidity increased from 4 to 408 mg/l over the seasons compared to the WHO standard set at 5 mg/l and the Water Department standard set at 25 mg/l. Chemical pollution for surface water sources show seasonal variations with an increase in the concentration during the wet season, for instance, iron levels ranged from 2.3 to 4.03 mg/l. This is above the WHO and Water Department drinking standards which are 1 and 3 mg/l, respectively. However, bacteriologically both the ground water and the surface water sources are grossly polluted. Ground water spring coliform count ranged from 190/100 ml to 9500/100 ml, and the well 3500/100 ml to 11,000/100 ml having the maximum during the wet season. Surface water results also indicated the coliform count ranging from 2900/100 ml to 4600/100 ml way higher than the WHO, MBS standard for drinking water which is 0 and the Water Department standard for untreated water of which range from 10–50 coliforms/100 ml.The results indicate that water resources have been polluted by lack of sanitation facilities, indiscriminate disposal of waste and the institutional set-up governing the provision of services in the area.