Assessment of water sources and quality for livestock and farmers in the Rift Valley area of Ethiopia: Implications for health and food safety

Adequate access to good quality drinking water is an important prerequisite for the wellbeingand survival of people. Increasing competition over scarce freshwater resources withcontinuous quality deterioration is becoming a serious problem in many developing countrieslike Ethiopia, where the technical, socioeconomic and political conditions are impeding theproper utilization of the required resource. The concern of low quality water is either due todirect health impacts of poor quality drinking water or a reduction in the palatability of waterfor humans or animal consumption. The use of contaminated water in food production and/orprocessing can also be a considerable health concern for people. In rural households, water isused for multiple purposes including income generating activities such as livestock farming.Generally, the interactions among livestock, water and rural communities are very complex.Studies addressing the extent of water scarcity and quality problems in Ethiopia in suchcontexts are still limited. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of water utilization byfarmers and their livestock with respect to potential health and food safety impacts wascarried out in two districts of Ethiopia. The specific objectives of the present study were to:(1) assess the constraints and challenges in meeting the water requirements of livestock keptby typical rural communities, (2) assess the utilization of water sources by livestock andpeople, (3) assess the suitability of water sources for human and livestock consumption basedon microbiological and chemical quality indicators, (4) examine the microbiological qualityof water at household levels and the potential health impacts, and (5) investigate the potentialimpacts of poor water quality on the microbiological safety of milk and milk products.The study was carried out in Lume and Siraro districts, both located in the Rift Valley ofEthiopia. Methodologically, the study encompassed different components: (1) a questionnairesurvey complemented by focus group discussions with farmers, (2) assessments of themicrobiological and chemical quality of water destined for human and/or livestockconsumption, (3) microbiological assessments of milk and milk products produced andconsumed by the local communities, and (4) a compilation of secondary data focusing oncommon human health problems in the districts. The questionnaire survey with 320 randomlyselected farmers, the focus group discussions (n=16) and the compilation of secondary datawere carried out from July to October 2010. Water samples were collected from sources andhousehold containers from December 2010 to January 2011 and July to August 2011,corresponding to dry and wet seasons, respectively. During both sampling periods, a total of 25 water sources (sites where water was utilised or fetched for the purpose of human and/orlivestock consumption) were assessed for microbiological and chemical quality parameters. Atotal of 126 and 109 water samples from household containers were collected in the dry andwet season, respectively. In addition, a total of 53 samples of milk and milk products werecollected during the wet season and analyzed for E. coli contamination. Water samplescollected from ground and surface water sources were analysed for total dissolved solids, pH,manganese, chromium, fluoride, E. coli and total coliforms. The assessed parameters wereselected based on their importance to health or aesthetic aspects of water for human and/orlivestock uses. The water samples from household containers were only analyzed formicrobiological parameters. A summary of disease reports (July 2009-June 2010) wasobtained from the Health Offices of the respective districts to assess the occurrence andimpact of water-related human diseases.Descriptive statistics were calculated for the questionnaire survey data. Qualitative datacollected in farmers’ group discussions were analyzed by organising the raised issues intological categories. Mean ranks were calculated to compare the various constraints forlivestock production mentioned by farmers. Non-parametric statistical tests were used tocompare E. coli counts of water or milk between seasons and districts. The suitability of watersources for livestock and human consumption was evaluated by comparing the assessedquality parameters with recommended values.The study results showed that water sources intended for domestic and livestock uses wereeither ground water (hand-dug wells, boreholes) or surface water (river, dugout, surface runofffrom roadsides). Challenges in the provision of water for livestock and/or people wereassociated with physical inaccessibility and high seasonal variation in the availability of watersources. Poor quality water for livestock drinking was rather a concern for communities in theproximity of urban settlements or industrial establishments. The mismanagement of harvestedrainwater due to indiscriminate access of livestock to the sources was also found to pose highhealth risks on both livestock and people.Taking E. coli as an indicator of faecal pollution, the assessment of water samples showedthat most of the surface water sources were contaminated with faecal materials and did notmeet the WHO guidelines for drinking water quality. On the other hand, groundwater sourceswere microbiologically safe, but chemically contaminated with elements such as fluoride andmanganese. In total, 76% of the water sources (n=25 points) assessed in this study failed to comply with WHO guidelines for human drinking water in both, the dry and the wet seasonfor at least one parameter of health or aesthetic concern. Regarding pH, fluoride, manganeseand chromium, 32% and 20% of the water sources were found unfit for livestockconsumption in the dry and wet season, respectively. Another potential water-related healthrisk identified in this study was the considerable re-contamination of water after collectionfrom sources. This can severely compromise the expected health benefits from the installationof improved water sources. For the overall assessed water samples from household containers,it was found that E. coli contamination was higher during the rainy season compared to thedry season. The microbiological assessment of milk produced and consumed in the study areashowed a considerable contamination with E. coli. Although the correlation between the E.coli counts of milk and water was weak (Spearman’s rank correlation coefficient r=0.1), therecorded poor quality water still might have contributed to the low microbiological qualityand safety of dairy products produced and consumed in the area.According to the secondary data collected from health offices, water-related human healthproblems potentially associated with the scarcity, poor quality and mismanagement of watersources were malaria, diarrhoea and gastro-intestinal parasites. Water-related livestock healthproblems were also reported by the farmers to be mainly associated with drinking water fromstagnant dugouts and the industrially polluted Mojo River.In conclusion, the rural communities in the Rift Valley area of Ethiopia lack reliable access tosafe water sources, with potential adverse health impacts. A possible priority of action thatemanates from this study is a minimization of industrially associated water qualitydeterioration through the enforcement of existing environmental protection rules andregulations. Concurrently, awareness creation of the owners of the industries on the properwaste disposal mechanisms and environmental accountability should be targeted as one of thekey aspects to alleviate the industry-related water pollution. On the other hand, in order tominimize the health risk associated with the mismanagement of rainwater harvesting systems,farmers should be technically supported by the local government in the proper design andmanagement of the systems. Health education remains a necessary and crucial intervention toreduce the re-contamination of water. In this respect particularly women should be addressed,since they are customarily responsible for the collection and handling of water for domesticconsumption.