Quality of potable water from different sources; a case study of Rukungiri municipality

Abstract

The quality of water from different water sources from Rukungiri municipality was determined and compared. The aim of the study was to generate information that was important forimproving the accessibility to safe and high quality water in Rukungiri district hence contributing to clean water and sanitation hence improving public health. The objectives of the study were to compare the pH, E.coli, Electrical conductivity and Turbidity of water from different water sources to standards for potable water and to characterize different sources of water in Rukungiri Municipality. Survey method was used to collect data on the water sources and experimental method was used to determine the quality of water from different water sources. The results show that majority (55%) of people used tap water while 15% used unprotected spring. Most of the water sources had quality values within the acceptable standards. There are different reasons as to why people use different sources of water for example some people used spring water and borehole water because the water was free. Others used tap water because of its good quality since NWSC treated it before it was being supplied to households. Others used boreholes because there were near their homes which reduced on the distance of moving to other water sources such as springs.