Assessment of the Water Quality and Health Implication from Ruaha Rivers and Allied Water Sources Serving Domestic Purpose in Pawaga Division.

Ngowi, Jackson C. (2022) Assessment of the Water Quality and Health Implication from Ruaha Rivers and Allied Water Sources Serving Domestic Purpose in Pawaga Division. Masters thesis, The Open University of Tanzania.

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Abstract

Water quality issues are a global debate, and considerable attention is realized when domestic water quality is polluted. In this study we have assessed water quality and health implication from Ruaha River and allied water sources serving domestic purpose in Pawaga division. To realize this objective, a triplicate sample from three different locations of Great Ruaha River, three different villages for tap water and well water were sampled for physical chemical and bacteriological analysis using acceptable analytical standards. Microbiological analysis of water samples, specifically E. Coli, were determined using membrane filtration method to quantify E. coli in all samples using m-ColiBlue24 Culturing Broth. The TDS ranges between 107 – 2235.8 mg/L during the wet season and 49.0 -2616.3 mg/L 319.2 mg/L during the dry season. These values are higher than the acceptable limits by TBS (1,500 Parts per Million (ppm)) and WHO (1,000 ppm). The HCO3- excellently correlated (r = 1.0) with all major cations, i.e. Na+, K+, Ca2+ and Mg2+, suggesting the existence of sedimentary evaporate deposit as the area is characterized by extremely high temperatures that water content lost as evaporation can not be compensated by total rainwater and influx surface water (rivers and streams). Heavy metals (Pb and Zn) presented similar correlations that suggest the existence of carbonate-based minerals serving as their ores. Since all domestic water sources had no treatment before use, turbidity was the first visible water quality parameter that all users realized an upfront rejection of such water when rainwater was available. It was concluded that urgent need for effective policies to control and reduce the pollution levels of the rivers, whose waters are destined for a variety of uses. Keywords: Cholera, e-coli, Pawaga, Fluoride, Nitrate, Great Ruaha.

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