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Community perceptions and practices on quality and safety of drinking water in Mbarara city, south western Uganda [1]
['Abaasa N. Catherine', 'Faculty Of Medicine', 'Mbarara University Of Science', 'Technology', 'Mbarara', 'Savino Ayesiga', 'Godfrey Zari Rukundo', 'Julius B. Lejju', 'Faculty Of Science', 'Frederick Byarugaba']
Date: 2023-05
Communities attribute the poor quality and safety of drinking water from sources in their communities to the growing population in the city.
Mbarara’s population is growing rapidly because, as a new city, there is scramble for resources. There are a lot of issues and of course as national water, we cannot meet the demands at the moment and people are opting for other sources (KII I).
There is a lot of garbage volume and residents live in congested homesteads with no provision for waste disposal. They resort to throwing their waste in River Rwizi at night.
Sometimes you see someone on a boda boda (motorcycle) and you think that he is carrying luggage, and for those of us who walk at night, he reaches the bridge and stops for a while and dumps garbage into the river, thus we live by God’s grace. For example, someone may have garbage in the house and when she wakes up in the morning, she goes with it and throws it in the river because she has nowhere to put it, but those ditches will undoubtedly help us, so in your research, you should coordinate with the government to put emphasis on landlords digging up ditches for their tenants ( FGD I ).
Waste management is poor, and everyone dumps wherever they please; laws are in place, but they are not followed; personnel exist to execute laws, but when you try to do what is right, they will claim that you are interfering with voters ( KII II ).
The toilet facilities are few and unhygienic making residents to resort to other options like open defecation, using polythene bags and plastic bottles for their excreta which is dumped /poured in the garbage bins or trenches. Some landlords open their toilets to empty directly in River Rwizi.
We have seen that pollution is from domestic wastes, people opening their latrines anyhow, so everything ends up in the system, which means you cannot rule out the drainage system, so we simply urge people to connect to national water because we know it is safe (KII I).
Participants believe that national water and sewerage cooperation is not treating the water they supply for use or does not treat the water properly. They believe that sometimes they use poor quality chemicals which remain as residues in the water as it is supplied.
You go to get water and find that it is really River Rwizi water that is very brown in color and I don’t know what causes that because I believe they treat it and how come it is dirty as if it was not treated and even after boiling it and putting it down to settle, you find those brown things on the bottom so that water is not good and those who drink it without boiling it will get sick (FGD VI).
Other participants noted that drinking water is treated before it is availed for use but however attributed the poor quality of water accessed to the location of the consumer.
People who live in valleys have a higher chance of receiving dirty water because that is where settlement takes place and everything settles where there is a valley and you find that people who are in valleys have issues with water so the people at the end have a higher chance of receiving dirty water but we always put mitigation measures, for example, we encourage regular flashing of our systems. There are planned sessions every three months sometimes we conduct unplanned system flashing, which is done after getting complaints ( KII III ).
Participants believe that the safety and quality of drinking water is affected by poor maintenance of water systems. Once the water gets to the individual consumers, the overhead tanks are dirty since they are never or rarely cleaned. National water and sewerage cooperation is using old dysfunctional water systems (pipes) that have never been changed from the time they were installed and sometimes lack enough chemicals for treatment.
We have ancient pipes. I believe these pipes are 72 years old, making them incredibly old, and you can detect water pollution from those old pipes since they wear out over time. We might not recognize if the problem has occurred, but with this next project, we are replacing all of them ( KII III ).
They are also not cleaning their tanks on a regular basis. Sincerely speaking, people do not wash their tanks for 3–4 years, the tank is just there, there are lizards, bird droppings, monkeys playing on it, and people are unaware of its effect, but people keep saying that national water gives us bad water because people are not sensitized, this is because our duty ends at your tap beyond your tap, it is your responsibility ( KII III ).
Participants reported a deficiency in city planning. Most buildings are not built according to city authorities’ plan. Factories and industries are constructed in water catchment areas with no permits and a provision for their waste disposal hence ending up in dumping their waste inappropriately that ends up in water catchment areas and water sources. These illegal developments are hard to regulate and monitor because of political interference.
We no longer listen to technical experts; instead, we listen to politicians, which is driving our people to regress to the early 1960s. Let us prevent political involvement, and since there is a political hand somewhere, people construct factories anywhere even in water catchment areas, making it difficult for us to intervene. Hence, we consider our integrity, I believe there is much we can avoid ( KII II ).
We will not evict a factory near the river because there are so many industries along this river here, and when we look at the analysis we have been doing, we find that some samples taken at night have a different water quality than those taken during the day because we suspect that a lot of things are dumped there at night ( KII III ).
River Rwizi which is the main source of drinking water in Mbarara city has been covered by water hyacinth. The weed has covered the biggest part of the river, it has led to reduction in water volume, it traps garbage deposited in the river and makes pumping of water for treatment hard and costly.
This weed in the River Rwizi called water hyacinth, it collects and traps polythene bags and bottles, and their contents slowly leak into the water, thus I believe they are to blame for the polluted water we drink these days, and you may find that some individuals use it the way it is ( FGD I ).
For example, we make bricks from garbage, so if a person is aware that garbage is important and will benefit from it, he or she will take responsibility, and the responsible companies will come and pick it up. However, people should also be aware of which rubbish has value so that one knows the exact amount he is likely to receive ( FGD VI ).
Organic and inorganic plastics are separated for possible recycling since we cannot do away with this because as a country, we still need jobs, so how can we have these jobs without damaging the environment and River Rwizi ( FGD II ).
Community members have resorted to putting to use the overgrowing garbage and plastic volume to use. Garbage and plastics are being collected and used to make brickets. Plastics are collected and recycled into other accessories like beads and mats.
We can choose to utilize rain water since we have been spoiled by taps, and as a result, one can build a house without a gutter. Collecting rain water would also help, but the problem is that once collected, one person dips a cup to fetch water and another person brings a jug, making it unsafe, but it would be one of the best ways because that water is free, and I feel like if I could get a crest tank and put it on my house to harvest clean water, could it be a solution and once I get it, I get period to wash it and by the time water enters into that tank I make sure there is a sieve to prevent large things from entering the tank, and once the water is finished, you cleanse the tank and boil water from that tank for drinking ( FGD II ).
Communities have a vast number of alternative sources of drinking water that range from, open wells, protected springs, boreholes, gravity flow, and tap water and rain harvest tanks. They use an alternative source depending on what they want to use the water for and the availability, accessibility, safety and quality of water.
We boil water, especially when it comes to drinking, and then we filter it to limit the level of contamination since after boiling, there is some dirt that remains on the bottom ( FGD II ).
For safety, I believe that for national water and sewerage cooperation, safety is maintained through treatment to address specific issues such as microbiology nuclei and all that, as well as disinfection, so the water is disinfected, and then there is the aspect of filtration to remove these other suspended materials, so there is this deliberate effort to treat the water so that it meets the standards that we require. So there is an effort in terms of personnel and resources, and the entire site has the idea in mind that this water must be treated to this acceptable standard, so the safety is guaranteed (KII IV) .
Water service providers ensure that drinking water supplied for use by communities is treated and is safe and of recommended quality of drinking water for supply to communities. The communities boil the water, sieve it, cover it, use clean water collection vessels, allow it to sediment, and use the supernatant and sometimes use safeguard to treat their drinking water before use.
We have attempted to secure the water in our wetland so that when children go to get water from there, they do not defecate in the area surrounding our water and that cows that go to our water source do not go close the water that we fetch for drinking, which is what we do with our wetland. We make sure that when someone fetches, she/he ensures that the tap is properly closed and that children do not go there to play on the borehole/tap so that we can protect it ( FGD III ).
Community members have put in place security controls around water sources, the water sources are faced to stop animals from drinking from sources meant to supply drinking water for human consumption, they encourage community members not to send young children to fetch water hence minimising defecating and swimming in drinking water sources.
We sample together and then discuss the results. They also audit, and now we are going to audit so that if one group is not speaking the truth, another group will. I believe that with that level of transparency, we can perform those system checks and, at the end of the day, compare the data ( KII III ).
Surface water abstraction permit, ground water abstraction permit, water discharge permit, construction permit, there are quite a few and for surface water permit, the main idea is that issuing a permit is to ensure that water is available for all not just some because they all need water so if we allow individuals, and you know individuals are selfish by nature, one can decide to take all the water excluding others so one needs to tell our department based on what they want ( KII I ).
We have legislation in place, such as the National Environmental Act, which serves as a foundation for all environmental concerns, including the preservation of all water resources. We have national wetland, river bank, and lake shores management in place for the preservation of water sources, and as part of our mandate, we aim to engage communities and stakeholders in the conservation of water sources, and the battle is still ongoing ( KII IV ).
Participants revealed that there are laws in place to ensure water catchment areas are protected and not encroached on for human activities. Any developments along water catchment areas must be evaluated for impact assessment and must receive permission inform of permits that clearly stipulates what activity is going to take place and for how long and their waste disposal and environment protection and conservation plan.
We practice water rationing, in which we decide to give water to one zone during the day and another during the night. We make sure everyone has access to water. We encourage people to get overhead tanks because residents in Mbarara get water via direct lines, so if there is no water on a certain day, overhead tanks might be of help ( KII III ).
Water rationing is employed where some areas receive water at night while others during the day to make sure that at least all communities have water per day. Communities are encouraged to have overhead tanks to ensure a continuous supply of water.
Community member’s perceived solutions to ensure safe and quality of water
Participants believe that engaging stakeholders in the catchment area on water source protection guidelines and the need to alert communities/stakeholders in case of contamination, and enforcing laws through political leaders can help ensure safe and quality water to the communities.
When the catchment is not proper, all of these will come down, so when we go to individuals, we must be aware that when certain things are not done correctly, one suffers, and when someone is not aware that chemicals for agriculture once sprayed, such chemicals will come back to me, so those people are not aware. So that is the information we are talking about, the safety of water and how this safety is important to all of us, not just you and me, but all of us, and even the people outside there, because otherwise, we would be treating the symptoms rather than the core cause of the problem (KII I).
Participants believe that community sensitisation on the need for safe and quality drinking water will help greatly in changing the mind set of communities.
Sensitization, that is it, the community may not be aware of pollutants rods and, major contaminants of water, so they need to come up with an approach of sensitization in our communities about the dangers of drinking contaminated water by informing the communities that if you use contaminated water, it affects them like getting water borne diseases, so that they can come to understand that they must protect the water sources (KII I). When you go to the villages in these town councils, you will see what I mean, you will see everywhere is garbage and so on, so sometimes we apply law and sometimes you can find a leader in the village does not have a latrine, does not have anything to use for sanitation, you find somebody’s compound is full of funny things and is a leader, so those are the things, but we will keep on community sensitization. Even if we lack resources, we will continue to educate the community, and those who wish to spread the word will go out and improve their surroundings (FGD II).
There is need to educate communities to create awareness and ensure that there are buffer zones in water catchment areas.
Awareness has been raised through educating communities and limiting development around waterways. NEMA regulates all projects where it is not possible; NEMA has not authorized any developments beside water resources, and when they are permitted, limitations are imposed. When we look at the River Rwizi, we tried to engage a number of stakeholders, including encroachers along the river basins, so that they can vacate and the buffer is well protected, and when the buffer is well protected, it means that the water is fine. We have also engaged industrialists in managing the effluents coming from their industries, so that the water released from the manufacturing processes is treated before it is discharged into the river, and even before it is discharged into the river (KII IV).
Participants believe that following guidelines set to ensure safe and quality drinking water is key to in maintaining safe and quality drinking water.
We must adhere to the drinking water guidelines. What is the distance from the latrine to the water source, sometimes people come and start cultivating near the water sources, so some meters are required from the water source, and even the water source itself has some meters’ standard like 50 by 50 so that if there is run off, it should not filtrate easily into the water source, so after putting the measures at the source, we know that that source is ok (KII II).
Participants believe that most factors that affect the safety and quality of water in Mbarara city are due to the behaviour and mind set of community members. National water and sewerage cooperation tries its level best to supply safe and quality drinking water at the recommended standard for home use not at the bottled water standard. Most communities access this resource through illegal connections that makes the cost of supply and maintenance expensive for the service provider thereby making it expensive for the consumer. Communities are aware that the water available for use needs to be boiled before drinking it but for personal reasons like lack of firewood, ignorance and time, they resort to drinking it half boiled or unboiled. City authorities have put in place provisions for waste disposal but communities continue to dispose waste as they wish.
We have a lot of pollution from industrial developments, as well as problems with improper waste management, all of which end in our waters. Leaving that aside, we have a number of illegal construction and illegal activities that are taking place outside of the 100-meter zone that is the protection zone along the river, thus ending up in the river, so the quality of water is not up to date due to poor waste disposal, population growth, and direct influent discharge from industries that is not even treated, and all of that ends up in our water sources (KII IV). Individuals illegally connect to the water supply, and we have many such incidents in Mbarara, largely from private plumbers. Connection is also important since someone will connect you where the settlement is and where they do not encourage consumers to be connected, but you will find individuals connecting illegally (KI III). We would be boiling the water, but most of the time we do not have enough money to buy charcoal because it is expensive, and sometimes you can have food but you cannot cook because you do not have charcoal, so there is no charcoal to boil water, so most people drink it without boiling it, which has caused typhoid infections. People have been talking about someone who just grabs a cup, pours directly from a jerrican, and drinks (FGD I).
To ensure safe and quality drinking water, there is need for collaboration between communities and water service providers. The community needs to be engaged and encouraged to participate in activities aimed at ensuring stable and sustainable supply and use of safe and quality drinking water. There is need to set up community water committees, catchment management committees and school sanitation committees through which information pertaining the use and maintenance of safe and quality water and practices to ensure proper use and maintenance of safe and quality water are shared between communities and water service providers.
we normally have the water user committees to check whoever gets water but they also have a challenge themselves. There is need to make committee on sanitation to ensure things like toilets, hand washing facility, abcd are introduced in the community so that they can reduce the risks and if someone comes from the toilet, there should be a jerrican and soap on the toilet to wash hands so those are the measures we are putting up but I told you that is a behavioural change strategy with its many challenges (K II IV). We have not gone to the household level, but we have managed to get to catchment organizations, which are made up of many stakeholders, including local governments, so from local governments, we establish a committee of that catchment organization called the catchment management committee. The organization is comprised of structures that comprise the executive arm, which meets to address issues. There are many entities in that catchment management committee, such as district local government, which brings on board district water officials, chief administrative officers, and LC 5 (Local council) chairpersons (KII I).
Participants believe treating drinking water from drinking water sources in Mbarara city at supply system level with chemicals and at home with safeguard will greatly help in improving the quality and safety. This could be by providing chemicals to help in home treatment of drinking water and general treatment of water before it is supplied for use on the taps. There is need to mechanically remove the water weeds/plants, clear bushes around water sources and regularly cleaning the open wells.
Water, in my opinion, should be collected in tanks and then purified at various treatment stations before being released. But my heart continues telling me that maybe National Water and Sewerage Corporation obtains water from a source and store it in tanks, but they don’t treat it before distributing it, or the tanks aren’t washed on a regular basis, or the treatment they use is insufficient. You are aware that in Uganda, less treatment can be used than is recommended, which cannot be sufficient for effective water treatment (FGD II). For safety, I believe that national water and sewerage cooperation maintains safety through water treatment to address specific issues such as microbiological nuclei. Water is disinfected, and there is also the issue of filtration to remove these other suspended things, so there is a concerted effort to clean the water so that it meets the acceptable standards we require. There is constant monitoring to verify that these criteria are met, including the availability of persons and resources to ensure that this water is treated to appropriate levels and that safety is ensured (KII I).
Participants suggest that water service providers should ensure that the water they supply is safe and of quality. They should put provisions in place to ensure that the quality is maintained throughout the supply chain by routine monitoring and surveillance and ensuring that any pitfalls are addressed in a timely manner.
I believe that National Water and Sewerage Company should take the time to walk around and observe what is going on, not only to appear to collect their money but also to learn about the kind of water they supply. There is a need for communities to set aside time to meet with individuals and discuss what to do, like we are doing now, and we also know if the problem is here or there. They do not have that time they only come when they want their money but I think giving time to people is also crucial. They should visit different locations since the water may be polluted in some locations but clean in others (FGD II).
Participants believe that so many factors contribute to ensuring safe and quality drinking water supply. It is these same factors if not properly addressed that will lead to deterioration of water quality. By engaging stakeholders, it is a great step towards provision and sustaining clean, safe and quality water. Stakeholders should provide community with feasible solutions, keep the process in check and hence the safety and quality of drinking water is achieved and maintained.
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