Abstract
Assela, one of the developing towns in the south eastern central zone of Ethiopia, is located 175 km away from the Capital City of Addis Ababa. Anko River divides the town into two separate parts. In rural areas, water from Anko River is used for drinking and sanitation purposes. However, sewage from residential areas and Assela Hospital directly enters the river, affecting its quality. The objective was to determine Anko River water pollution status by the influence of wastewater discharge in Assela town. The cross sectional study design was conducted. The sampling techniques were wastewater samples taken from Assela Hospital waste water discharge site, upstream and downstream sites of Anko River for laboratory analysis in Addis Ababa. The average results of chemical and bacteriological parameters such as BOD5 from 11.8 to 131.9 mg/L; COD from 115.7 to 206.2 mg/L, ammonia from 8.4 to 42.4 mg/L, nitrate varied from 1.6 to 3 mg/L, nitrite from 0.1 to 0.2 mg/L, and phosphate values varied from 2.1 to 6.3 mg/L, faecal coliform counts/100 ml varied from 180 to 600 and total coliform beyond WHO recommended for wastewater discharge. The correlations among the bacteriological and chemical properties were observed in the studied sites. Ammonia with phosphate, BOD5 and COD had a significant positive correlation (r = 1.000, at P-value at 0.01, respectively). Nitrate had negative significant correlation with phosphate, BOD5, COD and FCF(r = - 1 and -0.820, P-value < 0.01) and phosphate correlated with BOD5, COD and FCF (r = 1 and 0.820, at P-value at 0.01, respectively). BOD5 correlated with COD and FCF (r=1 and 0.820 with P-value at 0.001 respectively). Water borne diseases may be transmitted due to waste pollution of Anko River. Therefore, Assela town health departments have to take intervention measures on proper Anko River water treatment. Also, to reduce the faecal and total coliform organisms applying waste water treatment system with sand filtration followed by post chlorination systems must be recommended by Assela Hospital and municipality. Key words: Water quality, indicator, water borne diseases, bacteriological and chemical water property.
Highlights
Wastewater refers to water whose quality is affected by the contribution of anthropogenic activities
This study suggests that Assela Hospital should wake up to the current treatment of wastewater polluted in Anko River in order to improve surface water quality and to protect consumers’ health
An indicator of aquatic pollution might be harmful to aquatic animals in Anko River mainly due to anthropogenic activities, municipal and sewage contaminations
Summary
Wastewater refers to water whose quality is affected by the contribution of anthropogenic activities. Infectious wastes are suspected to contain pathogens (bacteria, viruses, parasites, or fungi) in large amount They cause diseases in susceptible hosts, which include culture and stock of infective agents from laboratory waste, waste from surgery, etc; sharp waste, sharp items that could cause cuts or puncture wounds, including needles, hypodermic needles, scalpel and other blades, knives, infusion sets, saws, broken glass, and nails. Waste materials and pharmaceutical wastes cause damages to persons handling hospital equipment like knife, needle, broken glasses, and scalps. These wastes include pharmaceutical products (drugs and chemicals) that are returned from wards, contaminated or expired products; chemical wastes consist of discarded solid, liquid, and gaseous chemicals. WHO (1999) reported that, about 85% of hospital waste is non-hazardous, 10% infective and 5% not infective
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