Water quality of improved water sources and associated factors in Kibuku District, Eastern Uganda

Abstract

Globally, billions of people still lack access to safe water, including basic drinking water services, particularly in sub-Saharan Africa. We analyzed water quality for improved water sources and associated factors in Kibuku district, Eastern Uganda. The mixed-methods study employed included; water quality analysis, a questionnaire survey, and key informant interviews conducted in the months of April–June 2020. A total of 249 improved water sources were sampled for analysis of bacteriological quality, pH, and electrical conductivity. This was followed by a sanitary and people’s attitudes survey at all the water sources visited. Among the water sources, 62.3% deep boreholes, 63.5% public tap stands, 14.3% rain-water harvesting tanks, and 28.6% protected springs had zero thermotolerant coliforms with 63.8% having acceptable pH levels (6.5–8.5) and 35.3% having acidic levels (less than 6.4). Furthermore, 96.3% deep boreholes, 99.1% public tap stands, all (100%) rain-water harvesting tanks, and 50% protected springs had their turbidity levels in the acceptable range (less than 5NTUs). Additionally, only 22.1% of improved water sources had electrical conductivity in the acceptable range (less than 300 microSiemens). Among the 249 participants, majority (91.2%) had low knowledge levels about various methods that can be used in improving the quality of water. Generally, water sources had poor quality of water which was attributed to agricultural activities, dirty water collection containers, and poor attitude to water chlorination. The Ministry of Health, Ministry of Water and Environment, and other agencies need to design sustainable and feasible models for water treatment for low resourced setting.

Climate-smart water management practices for sustainable agriculture in Uganda

“…In Sub-Saharan Africa (SSA), most people lack access to clean, safe drinking water due to poor farming practices in the area's water catchment zones, water quality has received little attention. Nearly 695 million people continue to use unimproved facilities, which serves as a support for the aforementioned results that about 109 million people use unsafe surface water (Walekhwa et al 2022), and improved food security. The novelty of this study is emphasizing agriculture in recognition of its vital role in ensuring food security, in order to secure the production of inexpensive and sufficient food for the people (Rawat et al 2024).…”

Heavy Metal Assessment in Domestic Water Sources of Sikuda and Western Division Located in Busia District, Uganda

“…Application of organic fertilizer in agriculture for a long time as noted by Rashmi et al [39] in Western Europe led to the contamination of water bodies. A study by Walekhwa et al [40] cites agricultural practices as a factor affecting the quality of water in Kibuku district, eastern Uganda. In this study, agricultural activities were noted to have been a source of heavy metal pollution to water sources.…”

Quality and security of drinking water supply in the south of the Democratic Republic of Congo

“…he deterioration in drinking water quality during the rainy season poses a serious public health risk for both untreated groundwater and commercially packaged water, highlighting the need to address monitoring gaps and quality control [25]. Contamination was significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season (P < 0.05) with 51.8% of water samples in the rainy season and 27.3% in the dry season, not meeting the guidelines from the World Health Organization and the Ghana Standard Authority on fecal coliform concentrations in drinking water sources [26]. The proportion of the population exposed to the risk of fecal contamination during the rainy season was 41.5% compared to 33.1% during the dry season [27] these changes observed by differences in contaminant levels between wet and dry seasons.…”