Investigation of the Content and Dynamics of Nutrients in the Surface Water of Lake Mulehe in Kisoro District, South-Western Uganda
Loading...
Date
2022-06-08
Authors
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Kabale University
Abstract
Water pollution with nutrient-based contaminants is a major
concern as it may lead to the eutrophication of freshwater
bodies. The purpose of this study was to investigate the content
and dynamics of nutrients in the shallow (max. 6 m) Lake
Mulehe. We collected 54 water samples from nine sampling
stations between the wet season March–May 2020 and the dry
season (June–August 2020). Nutrients; ammonia–nitrogen
(NH4–N), nitrate–nitrogen (NO3–N), nitrite–nitrogen (NO2–N),
total nitrogen (TN), total phosphorus (TP) and soluble reactive
phosphorus (SRP) were investigated in accordance with APHA
2017 standard procedures. Besides, physical parameters:
Temperature, pH, turbidity, electrical conductivity and dissolved
oxygen were measured in situ. The water quality index (WQI)
was used to determine the water quality of Lake Muhele using
drinking water quality standards developed by the Uganda
National Bureau of Standards and the World Health
Organization. Results indicated that nutrients (TN, NO3–N, TP,
NH4-N, NO2–N and SRP) did not differ substantially between
study stations (p > 0.05) but did reveal significant differences (p
< 0.05) across study months. Besides, nutrient levels differed
significantly between seasons (p < 0.05) except for SRP and
NH4–N. The WQI values varied from 36.0 to 74.5, with a mean
of 58.69. The recorded overall WQI value places Lake
Mulehe’s water quality into the ‘poor’ category in terms of
worthiness for human consumption. The study, therefore,
recommends continuous pollution monitoring and enforcement
of local regulations to reduce pollution in the lake as a result of
anthropogenic activities.
Description
Keywords
Content and Dynamics of Nutrients, Surface Water, Kisoro District, South-Western Uganda