Seasonality in Faecal Contamination of Drinking Water Sources in the Jirapa and Kassena-Nankana Municipalities of Ghana

Dongzagla, Alfred; Jewitt, Sarah; O'Hara, Sarah

Abstract

This paper examines seasonal variations in faecal contamination of drinking water sources in the Jirapa and Kassena-Nankana Municipalities of Ghana. Data collection involved a survey of 568 households, testing of faecal coliform concentrations in drinking water source samples (141 in the rainy season, 128 in the dry season), in-depth interviews with key water stakeholders, and field observation to identify sources of faecal contamination. From the water quality testing, faecal coliforms were detected in all source types, including ‘treated’ pipe-borne water. Contamination was significantly higher in the rainy season than in the dry season (P < 0.05) with 51.8% of water samples in the rainy season and 27.3% in the dry season failing to meet the World Health Organisation and Ghana Standard Authority guideline on faecal coliform concentrations in drinking water sources. The proportion of population at risk of faecal contamination in the rainy season was 41.5% compared to 33.1% in the dry season. We argue that in Ghana and Sub-Saharan Africa at large, water surveillance agencies risk underestimating population exposed to faecal contamination through drinking water sources if monitoring is only done in the dry season. To avoid this, we recommend seasonal monitoring of faecal concentration in drinking water sources. However, in periods of limited resources, monitoring is most appropriate in the rainy season when the risk of contamination is high.

Citation

Dongzagla, A., Jewitt, S., & O'Hara, S. (2021). Seasonality in Faecal Contamination of Drinking Water Sources in the Jirapa and Kassena-Nankana Municipalities of Ghana. Science of the Total Environment, 752, Article 141846. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141846

• Journal Article Type: Article
• Acceptance Date: Aug 19, 2020
• Online Publication Date: Aug 20, 2020
• Publication Date: Jan 15, 2021
• Deposit Date: Aug 21, 2020
• Publicly Available Date: Aug 21, 2021
• Journal: Science of The Total Environment
• Print ISSN: 0048-9697
• Publisher: Elsevier
• Peer Reviewed: Peer Reviewed
• Volume: 752
• Article Number: 141846
• DOI: https://doi.org/10.1016/j.scitotenv.2020.141846
• Keywords: Drinking water; faecal contamination; faecal coliform; 3M Petrifilm; season; Ghana
• Public URL: https://nottingham-repository.worktribe.com/output/4845909
• Publisher URL: https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/abs/pii/S0048969720353754