Evaluation of the water quality of sewage treatment plant effluents (SETREP) and its effects on water quality in the Kinyankonge River in Burundi

Abstract

This study has the objective of determining the Physico-chemical parameters of effluents from under-exploited sewage treatment plants (SETREP)to show the quality of these effluents and to evaluate the effect of these effluents flowing into the Kinyankonge River and also to determine the water quality of this River. The quality of effluent from the sewage treatment plant (SETREP) was assessed to determine the effect that may have appeared on pollution using the Kinyankonge River. Effluents and water samples at some strategic and essential points of the River were collected and analysed to show the pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), suspended solids (SS), nitrates, phosphate, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5), dissolved oxygen (DO), faecal coliform (FC), and chemical oxygen demand (COD) primarily expending usual approaches. SS, TDS, phosphate, BOD5, and COD with average values of 192.61, 600.7, 6.29, 139.16, and 279.61 mg/l, respectively, depending on the values mentioned above, effluent from sewage treatment plants (SETREP) was outside the recommended limits set by the Burundian standard for all effluents that could be discharged into the inland waters of the country's Rivers. However, pH (9.42) and nitrate (1.83 mg/l) concentrations were inside the Burundian standard's suggested bounds. In comparison, concentrations of faecal coliforms (42800counts/100 ml) and DO (2.51mg/l) were not definite in the country standard. The difference in water excellence among upstream and downstream bounds was statistically significant (? < 0.05) at the sureness level of 96%. The determination of the Physico-chemical parameters was made by the T-test in the laboratory after taking the samples at the three stations (Figure 1) chosen according to the critical and strategic points. The analysis of the data obtained was done by the SPSS software version 18 for windows. It should be noted that the kruskal-wallis ANOVA test was applied to the laboratory to verify the data found. Note that the results found will be used during the monitoring of these effluents by the decision-makers of the country to avoid this kind of effluents either by adopting related laws or rehabilitate the existing under-exploited sewage treatment plants (SETREP) and still build the other sewage treatment plants (SETREP) to protect the rivers, the surrounding population, the biodiversity of the river and also the Lake Tanganyika which is the final receiver of polluted water while it has remarkable biodiversity worldwide and also is a source of drinking water supply to the economic capital of Burundi. The outcomes recommend that the effluent from sewage treatment plants pollute the river's water, making it unfit for consumption by the surrounding population and its daily use. It is therefore necessary to discourage the release of poor quality effluent into public rivers. The authorities should enforce waste disposal laws to protect people's lives using water from the Kinyankonge River and severely punish anyone who might violate the laws.