Factors associated with bacterial contamination of shallow well water sources. Case Study of Juja hostels Kiambu County

Abstract

The use of water from polluted water sources poses numerous public health challenges in developing countries. The ultimate purpose of any solid and liquid waste management plan is to mitigate environmental pollution; these goals become unachievable in the absence of a participatory approach to integrated waste management. This study sought to determine the extent of underground pollution of groundwater sources in Juja Town. Sanitary inspection and water quality analysis are complementary and valuable tools for characterizing and protecting water safety. The quality of the shallow wells is of great importance because it is used for consumption in Juja hostels. A two-stage cluster sampling strategy was adopted to obtain a representative sample size. Data collection involved the administration of questionnaires and field observation checklists, and E. coli levels present in the water were determined by the number of positive tubes in the table of computation of most probable number (MPN). Results showed that the predominant types of waste disposal practices observed in Juja were septic tank systems (77%) for liquid waste and private collection (87.3%) for solid waste methods. Sixty-eight per cent of the water samples were found to be positive (they exceeded the WHO (2004) maximum permissible load of 0.01/100 ml for drinking water. Three sanitary risk factors had a statistically significant effect on the dependent variable: the distance of the septic tank from the well on the level of water contamination (0.016), the liquid waste management plan (0.039), and the fitness of the water well cover on the level of water contamination (0.024). Shallow well water sources are unsuitable for use in food processing and drinking due to the presence of E. coli bacteria. The consequences of consuming contaminated water can be expensive to treat. Water from wells in Juja is contaminated with E. coli levels ranging from <3 - >1000 MPN/g, indicating fecal contamination in the area's underground water sources.