Effects of Seasonal Variations in Physical Parameters on Quality of Gravity Flow Water in Kyanamira Sub-County, Kabale District, Uganda
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Date
2016
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Scientific Research Publishing
Abstract
The effect of seasonal variations in physical parameters on quality of gravity flow
water was investigated in Kyanamira Sub-County, Kabale District, Uganda. The seasonal
variations in the physical parameters (pH, temperature, electrical conductivity
(EC), turbidity, colour, total dissolved solids (TDS), and total suspended solids
(TSS)) were determined during wet and dry seasons. Composite samples from gravity
flow water sources were collected monthly from March to August, 2014 and then
analyzed. Temperature was measured using thermometer; pH, EC and TDS were determined
using a multimeter, turbidity, colour and total suspended solids were determined
by spectrophotometric method. TDS, pH and temperature were the most
contributing parameters to water quality variations in both seasons. The mean pH
values varied between 3.78 - 4.84 from March to August, 2014 at all study sites. These
pH values were consistently below the WHO permissible range of 6.5 - 8.5. Similarly,
total suspended solids varied between 0.66 - 2.17 mg∙L−1 and were well above the
recommended WHO limit of zero mg∙L−1 at all study sites. Turbidity mean values varied
between 0.83 - 3.7 NTU and were outside the recommended limits of 3 NTU at
Kigata (3.7 NTU) only. Temperatures (20.3˚C - 21.15˚C) for all the study sites were
within the recommended limit of 20˚C - 30˚C in water for domestic purposes. The
mean values of physical parameters for the wet season were: temperature (21.12˚C),
colour (12.5 PtCoU), turbidity (3.4 NTU), TDS (76.76 mg∙L−1), TSS (2.13 mg∙L−1), pH
(4.19) and EC (152.7 μS∙cm−1) were different from those of the dry season (temperature
(20.99˚C), colour (0.93 PtCoU), turbidity (0.53 NTU), TDS (77.33 mg∙L−1), TSS
(0.67 mg∙L−1), pH (4.86) and EC (158.65 μS∙cm−1). Basing on these findings above, it
was evident to justify discouraging the use of gravity flow water at these study sites
for domestic purposes without proper treatment.
Description
Keywords
Kyanamira Sub-County, Seasonal Variations, Gravity Flow Water, Physical Parameters
Citation
Ngabirano, H., Byamugisha, D. and Ntambi, E. (2016) Effects of Seasonal Variations in Physical Parameters on Quality of Gravity Flow Water in Kyanamira Sub-County, Kabale District, Uganda. Journal of Water Resource and Protection, 8, 1297-1309