Assessment of the Quality of Domestic water in Kinondoni District, Dar es salaam, Tanzania
This study investigated the quality of domestic water obtained from the boreholes and water trucks used in Kimara, Mbezi and Mwananyamala wards in Kinondoni District, Dar es Salaam. Objectives were: (i) to determine levels of fecal and total coliform bacteria in domestic water supplied from private wells (boreholes) and water trucks, and compare these with the Tanzania Drinking Water Standards of 2008; (ii) to assess the physical quality of domestic water using pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) and compare these to the Tanzania Drinking Water Standards of 2008; (iii) to analyze the chemical quality of the domestic water using total hardness and Chloride and compare these to the Tanzania Drinking Water Standards of 2008. Water samples were taken from deep boreholes (60-116m) and water trucks following procedures described in WHO (1985) Guidelines for Drinking Water Quality. Samples were taken to the laboratory and analyzed. Studied parameters were fecal coliform, total coliform, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, pH, turbidity, chloride and total hardness. The first two were determined by the methods described in APHA (1985) and the rest by methods described in Thermo Scientific (2008). Results indicated that most of the water samples from boreholes and water trucks were contaminated with bacteria. The mean fecal coliform was 44.58 counts per 100 ml in boreholes and 138.88 in water trucks. These values are higher than the value zero of TBS specifications for Tanzania Drinking Water Standard of 2008. The total dissolved solids in water from the boreholes were lower (128 mg/l) than the 2000 mg/l set by Tanzania Drinking Water Standard of 2008. Seven out of 12 samples of water from boreholes were hard (640-1200 mg/l) compared to less than 600 mg of Tanzania Drinking Water Standard. Total dissolved solids, chloride and total hardness of water from trucks met the standards of Tanzania. Based on obtained results it is recommended that the water from boreholes and water truck vendors should be boiled first or treated by users in order to kill fecal bacteria before drinking.
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