Ivan Kibuuka-Kiguli
5 August 2007
opinion
Kampala — KAMPALA tap water has turned green. Tests reveal that there are disease-causing organisms in the water at levels that should make us ill! While National Water and Sewerage Corporation (NW&SC) may have weaknesses, the source from which it draws the raw water, Lake Victoria, is the destination of most sewage generated in Kampala. It receives both domestic and industrial wastewater.
According to the New Vision, only 8% of Kampala's buildings are connected to NW&SC's sewer lines. Much of Kampala's wastewater finds its way into the lake untreated.
Lake Victoria is a sink for human, agricultural and industrial waste. Along its 3450km shoreline, guesthouses, slum dwellings and industries discharge untreated waste-water into Nakivubo channel, which flows into Murchison Bay and contributes to pollution and depleted oxygen levels in the lake. At the mouth of Nakivubo channel is a trail of black sewage sludge.
Ground water (water sourced from sunken wells and boreholes) is a more economical choice as it is inherently pre-filtered by the aquifer from which it is extracted.
Surface water (such as that from Lake Victoria) is a typical raw water source used to make drinking water where it is abundant, ground water is unavailable or poor of quality. It is however, much more exposed to human activity and its by-products. As a water source, it is carefully monitored for the presence of a variety of contaminants by water suppliers. If it is abused like Lake Victoria is, the results are alkaline conditions, excessive calcium bicarbonate, nitrates and phosphates in the water.
Nakivubo Channel carries about 75% of the nitrogen and 85% of phosphorus nutrient load discharged daily into Murchison Bay.
The high nitrogen and phosphorous levels are responsible for the excessive algal blooms seen in the bay. Therefore, the green water at our taps is from us.
While the onus is on NW&SC to find ways of reducing leakages before the water gets to our taps, we should take responsibility for what happens when it leaves the taps. Complacency about wastewater management is what will kill us. Irresponsible wastewater discharge by any one affects us all.
The writer is a pollution control engineer based in Kampala
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