Assessment of the source of water pollution and their mitigation in Hoima municipality in Western Uganda.

Abstract

The study was aimed at assessment of the sources of water pollution and their mitigation in Hoima municipality in western Uganda. It was guided by research objectives; To: Identify the sources of water for domestic use for households in Hoima municipality, determine sources of pollution of water for domestic use in Hoima municipality and Determine measures for mitigating pollution of water for domestic use. The study was carried out in two divisions (Busiisi division and Kahoora), two wards per division, and five cells per ward which were randomly. Sixty households (30 from each division) were selected for study using systematic random sampling. Quantitative data was collected from sampled household heads using questionnaires. Results indicate that, most (62%) the respondents were aware of the sources of water pollution whereas only few (38%) were not aware about water pollution. Regarding the sources of water pollution, most (50%) of the respondents mentioned poor waste disposal, agricultural activities (25%), leakage from sewage lines (15%), and few (8%) mentioned burning of fossil fuels and (2%) for other activities like washing bays. Furthermore, results of the study regarding measures to mitigate water pollution indicated that most of the respondents (35%) had access to piped water and others fenced open water sources (22%), relatively few respondents (15%) properly disposed off their waste while few respondents (12%) practiced organic farming and very few (5%) prohibited washing vehicles in swamps and rivers. Other mitigation measures that were mentioned by a few respondents include avoiding washing near water sources and slashing around the water sources accounting to 13%.