English

Deneke Haylamicheal

doi:10.5897/ajest12.010

Abstract

  This study was conducted in WondoGenet district, Southern Ethiopia to assess the water quality of rural water supply schemes in relation to the sustainability of their service delivery. 28 functional water points were selected randomly, for their assessments. The assessments included sanitary surveillance of water points and water quality analyses. Water samples were analyzed for pH, temperature, total dissolved solids, turbidity, total hardness, fecal and total coliform bacteria, fluoride, chloride, nitrate, manganese, and iron. The results obtained show that most of the 'user perceived' acceptable drinking water quality parameters were within the World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines for drinking water quality, based on aesthetic and taste considerations. Only one dug-well had marginally higher level of total hardness (that is, 220 mg/l of CaCO3), while four water points had higher turbidity ranging from 8.3 to 64 NTU when compared with the WHO guidelines. In all the sampled water points, the level of iron (<0.009 to 1.25 mg/l), manganese (0.10 to 1.50 mg/l), chloride (0.80 to 62.5 mg/l), and nitrate (0.90 to 12.7 mg/l) were within the WHO guidelines. Fluoride was also found to be below the WHO health based limit (<1.5 mg/l). However, majority (85.7%) of the water points had detectable levels of total coliform bacteria (1 to 68 cfu). On the other hand, it was only in 25% of the water points that fecal coliform bacteria were detected (1 to 10 cfu). This shows that the bacteriological water quality is of concern as majority of the water points had detectable levels of coliform bacteria. Therefore, regular chlorination of water points, particularly dug wells, should continue. Besides, disinfection of water at the household level can be an added advantage.   Key words: Ethiopia, quality, rural, supply, sustainability, water

Highlights

Water quality and the risk to waterborne diseases are critical public health concerns in many developing countries
Chlorination of the water points might have helped the reduction of pathogens, design problems and other improper activities around the water points might be the cause for higher levels of coliform bacteria
Users complaints of dental fluorosis cases in few of the water points is something to be further investigated as the water quality analysis result did not support their proposition

Summary

Introduction

Water quality and the risk to waterborne diseases are critical public health concerns in many developing countries. Close to a billion people most living in the developing world do not have access to safe and adequate water (UNICEF/WHO, 2012). The World Health Organization (WHO) estimated that around 94% of the global diarrheal burden and 10% of the total disease burden are due to unsafe drinking water, inadequate sanitation, and poor hygienic practices (Fewtrell et al, 2007; Prüss-Üstün and Corvalán, 2006). The provision of safe and adequate water contributes to better health and increased individual productivity. It is recognized that there is significant relation between water supply and sanitation improvements and the potential for health and economic benefits (El-Fadel et al, 2003; Fewtrell et al, 2005; Peter, 2010; WHO/UNICEF, 2000). Rural water supply schemes should deliver the expected service to users for a reasonable period of time in terms of quality, quantity, accessibility, coverage, affordability and continuity called sustainability (Harvey and Reed, 2004)

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Conclusion