Household drinking water characteristics in a peri-urban community: the case of Kifumbira Zone, Kampala, Uganda

摘要

A study to determine the drinking water quality improvement practises at household level was undertakenrnin Kifumbira Zone, a Kampala peri-urban area, Uganda. The socio-economic conditions of 150rnhouseholds were identified using questionnaires and in-depth interviews. Solar water disinfectionrn(SODIS) was introduced to 10 households and water from their boiled drinking water and SODIS treatedrnwater was monitored for three months. The social survey indicated that boiling was the most commonrnmethod applied to improve the drinking water quality – mainly using charcoal and electricity. 65% of thernrespondent households boiled their drinking water, while the rest consumed it unboiled due to the highrncost of charcoal. The raw water sources exhibited microbiological contamination as evidenced by thernpresence of thermotolerant coliforms and high risk scores on the sanitary inspections conducted. Therernwas a statistically significant difference (p<0.05; n=15) in the mean count of thermotolerant coliformsrnfor boiled and SODIS treated water.