Assessment of microbial contamination of groundwater in upper Limphasa River catchment, located in a rural area of northern Malawi

Water SA

Volumn 38, Issue 4, 2012, Pages 581-596

  Kanyerere, Thokozani ^a,c   Levy, Jonathan ^b   Xu, Yongxin ^a   Saka, John ^c  

^a UNIVERSITY OF THE WESTERN CAPE   (South Africa)

^b MIAMI UNIVERSITY   (United States)

^c UNIVERSITY OF MALAWI   (Malawi)

Author keywords

Chlorine treatment; Drinking water; Groundwater sources' vulnerability; Pathogenic bacteria; Social vulnerability; Tropical rural communities

Indexed keywords

BACTERIA; CATCHMENTS; CHLORINE; CONTAMINATION; DISINFECTANTS; ESCHERICHIA COLI; GROUNDWATER; GROUNDWATER POLLUTION; HYDROGEOLOGY; POTABLE WATER; RUNOFF; RURAL AREAS; WATER QUALITY; WATER TREATMENT; WELLS;

COLORIMETRIC STANDARDS; E. COLI; FIELD MEASUREMENT; GROUND-WATER QUALITIES; GROUNDWATER CONTAMINATION; GROUNDWATER DEVELOPMENT; GROUNDWATER SOURCES; MICROBIAL CONTAMINATION; MULTIPARAMETERS; NON-PARAMETRIC; PATHOGENIC BACTERIUM; RIVER CATCHMENT; RURAL COMMUNITY; RURAL ENVIRONMENT; SCALING-UP; SCIENTIFIC EVIDENCE; SOCIAL VULNERABILITY; STANDARD METHOD; T-TESTS; WATER SAMPLES; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION;

CHEMICALS REMOVAL (WATER TREATMENT);

BACTERIUM; BOREHOLE; CATCHMENT; CHLORINE; DISINFECTION; DRINKING WATER; GROUNDWATER POLLUTION; GUIDELINE; HEALTH RISK; HOUSEHOLD SURVEY; HYDROGEOLOGY; PATHOGEN; POVERTY; RURAL AREA; RURAL POPULATION; SAFETY; SUSTAINABILITY; TESTING METHOD; VULNERABILITY; WATER QUALITY; WATER RESOURCE; WELL WATER; WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION;

LIMPHASA BASIN; MALAWI;

EID: 84930477700     PISSN: 03784738     EISSN: 18167950     Source Type: Journal    
DOI: 10.4314/wsa.v38i4.14     Document Type: Article

References (47)

1. APHA (AMERICAN PUBLIC HEALTH ASSOCIATION) (1995) Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (19th edn.). United Book Press Inc., Baltimore.
2. ALLER LJH, LEHR JH and PETTY R (1987) DRASTIC: Standardized System to Evaluate Groundwater Pollution Potential using Hydrogeologic Settings. National Water Well Association, Worthington, Ohio, United States of America.
3. BAUMANN E and DANERT K (2008) Operation and Maintenance of Rural Water Supplies in Malawi. SKAT Study Findings. UNICEF, Lilongwe, Malawi.
4. BORDALO AA and SAVVA-BORDALO J (2007) The quest for safe drinking water: An example from Guinea-Bissau (West Africa). Water Res. 41 (13) 2978-2986.
5. CANTOR AF, JAE PE, PARK K and VAIYAVATJAMAI P (2000) The effect of chlorine on corrosion in drinking water systems in chlorine's effect on corrosion in drinking water system. Midwest Technology Assistance Center, Urbana-Champaign, University of Illinois, USA.
6. CONBOY MJ and GOSS MJ (2000) Natural Protection of Groundwater against Bacteria of Fecal Origin J. Contam. Hydrol. 43 1-24.
7. CRONIN AA, BRESLIN N, GIBSON J, and PEDLEY S (2006) Monitoring source and domestic water quality in parallel with sanitation risk identification in Northern Mozambique to prioritize protection interventions. J. Water Health 4 (3) 333-345.
8. FIRTH J, BALRA JV, MULIYIL J, ROY S, RANI LM, CHANDRESEKHAR R and KANG G (2010) Point-of-use interventions to decrease contamination of drinking water: A randomized, controlled pilot study on efficacy, effectiveness and acceptability of closed containers, Moringa oleifera and in-home chlorination in rural South India. Am. J. Trop. Med. Hyg. 82 (5) 759-765.
9. FREEDMAN D, PISANI R and PURVES R (1998) Statistics (3rd edn.). WW Norton Publishing, New York.
10. HOKO Z (2005) An assessment of the water quality of drinking water in rural districts in Zimbabwe: The case of Gokwe South Nkayi, Lupane and Mwenezi Districts. Phys. Chem. Earth 30 859-866.
11. HOWARD G, PEDLEY S, BARRETT M, NALUNBENGA M and JOHAL K (2003) Risk factors contributing to microbiological contamination of shallow groundwater in Kampala, Uganda. Water Res. 37 3421-3429.
12. KIM YJ and HAMM SY (1999) Assessment of the potential for groundwater contamination using the DRASTIC technique, Chongju Area, South Korea. Hydrogeol. J. 7 227-235.
13. MALAWI BUREAU OF STANDARDS (2005) Malawi Standards: Borehole and Shallow Well Water Quality-Specification. Malawi Standards Board, Blantyre, Malawi, URL: mbs@malwi. net.
14. MALAWI GOVERNMENT (2008a) The Second National Communication of the Republic of Malawi to The United Nations Framework Convention on Climate Change. Climate Change Project Office; Department of Environmental Affairs, Lilongwe, Malawi.
15. MALAWI GOVERNMENT (2008b) Population and Housing Census 2008, Main Report. Malawi Government, National Statistics Office, Zomba, Malawi.
16. MALAWI GOVERNMENT (2005) The 2005 National Water Policy. Ministry of Irrigation and Water Development, Malawi Government, Lilongwe, Malawi.
17. MALAWI GOVERNMENT (1986) National Water Resources Master Plan, Report and Appendices. Department of Water Resources, Ministry of Works and Supplies, Lilongwe, Malawi.
18. MACDONALD AM and DAVIES J (2000) A Brief Review of Groundwater For Rural Water Supply in Sub-Saharan Africa. Technical Report WC/00/33. Overseas Geology Series. British Geology Survey and Department for International Development, Nottingham.
19. MACDONALD A, DAVIES J, CALOW R and CHILTON J (2005) Developing groundwater: A guide for rural water supply. ITDG Publishing, Warwickshire.
20. MKANDAWIRE T (2008) Quality of groundwater from shallow well in selected villages in Blantyre District, Malawi. Phys. Chem. Earth 807-811.
21. NATH KJ, BLOOMFIELD SF and JONES M (2006) Household water storage, handling and point-of-use treatment. A review commissioned by the International Scientific Forum on Home Hygiene. URL: http://www.ifh-homehygiene.org (Accessed June 2010).
22. NDIMBWA S and MPOHA OS (2008) Personal communication 5-10 July, 2008. Steven Ndimbwa, Health Surveillance Assistant, and Oscar Stalin Mpoha, District Environmental Health Officer, PO Box 63, Nkhata Bay, Malawi.
23. PRITCHARD M, CRAVEN T, MKANDAWIRE T, EDMONDSON AS and O'NEILL JG (2010) A study of the parameters affecting the effectiveness of Moringa oleifera in drinking water purification in Malawi. Phys. Chem. Earth 35 791-797.
24. PRITCHARD M, MKANDAWIRE T, EDMONDSON A, O'NEILL JG and KULULANGA G (2009) Potential of using plant extract for purification of shallow well water in Malawi. Phys. Chem. Earth 34 799-805.
25. PRITCHARD M, MKANDAWIRE T and O'NEILL JG (2007) Biological, chemical and physical drinking water quality from shallow well in Malawi: Case study of Blantyre, Chiradzulu and Mulanje. Phys. Chem. Earth 32 1167-1177.
26. RAHMAN A (2008) A GIS based DRASTIC model for assessing groundwater vulnerability in shallow aquifer in Aligarh, India. Appl. Geogr. J. 28 32-53.
27. ROBERTS L, CHARTIER Y, CHARTIER O, MALENGA G, TOOLE M and RODKA H (2001) Keeping clean water clean in a Malawi Refugee Camp: A randomized intervention trial. Bull. World Health Organ. 79 (4) 280-287.
28. ROBINS NS (2010) A low tech approach to evaluating vulnerability to pollution of basement aquifers in sub-Saharan aquifer. In: Xu Y and Braune E (eds.) (2010) Sustainable Groundwater Resources in Africa: Water Supply and Sanitation Environment. UNESCO International Hydrological Programme, Paris, France.
29. ROBINS NS, DAVIES J, HANKIN P and SAUER D (2003) Groundwater and data: An African Experience. Waterlines 21 (4) 19-21.
30. ROBINS NS, CHILTON PJ and COBBING JE (2007) Adapting existing experience with aquifer vulnerability and groundwater protection in Africa. J. Afr. Earth Sci. 47 30-38.
31. SNEDECOR GW and COCHRAN WG (1980) Statistical Methods (7th edn.). Iowa State University Press, Ames, Iowa.
32. SOPHOCLEOUS M and BUCHANAN RC (2003) Groundwater recharge in Kansas. URL: http://www.kgs.ukans.edu/ Publications/ pic22/ pic22_1.html (Accessed December, 2010)
33. TUMWINE JK (2005) Clean Drinking Water for Homes in Africa and other Less Developed Countries. Br. Med. J. 331 468-469.
34. UNICEF (UNITED NATIONS CHILDREN'S FUND) (2005) Water, Environment and Sanitation; Malawi Country Profile. UNICEF Malawi, Lilongwe, Malawi.
35. UN (UNITED NATIONS) (2006) The Millennium Development Goals Report 2006. United Nations, New York.
36. VANDERSLICE J and BRISCOE J (1993) All coliforms are not created equal: a comparison of the effects of water sources and in-house contamination on infantile disease. Water Resour. Res. 29 (7) 1983-1995.
37. WEAVER JMC, CAVE L and TALMA AS (2007) Groundwater Sampling: A Comprehensive Guide for Sampling Methods. WRC Report No. TT 303/07. Water Research Commission, Pretoria.
38. WONNOCOTT RJ and WONNACOTT TH (1985) Introductory Statistics (4th edn.). John Wiley and Sons, New York.
39. WORLD BANK (2006) The World Bank Annual Report 2006: Operational Summary, Fiscal 2006. World Bank, Washington DC.
40. WORLD BANK (2005) Global Monitoring Report: Millennium Development Goals from Consensus to Momentum. World Bank, Washington DC.
41. WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) (2009) Measuring Chlorine levels in Water Supplies: Technical Note for Emergencies. Final Draft-2009. WHO, Leicestershire.
42. WHO (WORLD HEALTH ORGANIZATION) (2008) Guidelines for Drinking-Water Quality (3rd edn.), Volume 1. Recommendations. WHO, Geneva (web version).
43. WRIGHT J, GUNDRY S and CONROY R (2004) Household drinking water in developing countries: a systematic review of microbiological contamination between source and point-of-use. Trop. Med. Int. Health 9 (1) 106-117.
44. XU Y and BRAUNE E (eds.) (2010) Sustainable Groundwater Resources in Africa: Water Supply and Sanitation Environment. UNESCO International Hydrological Programme, Paris, France.
45. XU Y and BRAUNE E (1995) A guideline for groundwater protection for the Community Water Supply and Sanitation Programme. Department of Water Affairs and Forestry, Pretoria, South Africa.
46. XU Y and REYNDERS AG (1995) A three-tier approach to protect groundwater resources in South Africa. Water SA 21 (3) 177-186.
47. YU IH, KIM YJ, KIM WY, LEE DY, KIM JY, LEE CW and LEE SR (1992) Advanced technology for Environmental Geologic Mapping (Pt. I). KR-92(T)-1, Korea Institute of Geology, Mining and Minerals, Ministry of Science and Technology, Taejon, South Korea.