WATER QUALITY

STANDARDS
 Types of water ?

• Rain water
• Storm water
• River water/ Lake water
• Ocean water
• Domestic water
• Industrial water
• Drinking water
• Agricultural water
• Irrigation water
• Sewage etc.
Blue water = good quality water
Green water = nutrient-enriched water
Brown water comes from swamps & forests
Water pollution from poor land use practices
Algal bloom – sign of eutrophication
Weed infestation of water bodies is driven by
nutrient enrichment
 Setting the WQ standards
• Water quality criterion (water quality guideline) –
Needed to support and maintain a designated water use.

• Water Quality Objective ( water quality goal)- Needed

to support and to protect the designated uses of water at a
specific site.

• Water quality standard – An objective that is

recognised in enforceable environmental control laws or
regulations of a government.
 Water quality objectives
• Water quality objectives are the measures that
specify the concentrations of substances permissible
for all intended water uses at a specific location on a
lake, river, or estuary.
• The objectives are based on the water quality
guidelines for the uses at that location, as well as on
public input and socio-economic considerations.
• The objectives not only protect water users and the
environment, but they also promote sustainable
water management strategies.
 Cont..
• Water Quality Objectives are intended to provide guidance
in making water quality management decisions such as the
designation of the surface waters which should not be
further degraded.
• They are often used as the starting point in deriving waste
effluent requirements included in Certificates of Approval
and other instruments issued to regulate effluent discharges.
• They are used to assess ambient water quality conditions,
assist in assessing spills and monitoring the effectiveness of
remedial actions.
 Primary drinking water standards criteria

• Microorganisms – • Inorganic Chemicals –

• Virus; Arsenic, barium, fluoride,
Legionella;Turbidity copper, lead,
• Disinfection Byproducts- • Organic Chemicals –
bromate, chlorite, Benzine; Carbon
trihomethanes; haloacetic tetrachloride;
acids Dichloromethane
• Disinfectants- • Radionuclides – Uranium;
chloramines, chlorine and Alpha particles; Beta
chlorine dioxides particles and photon
emitters
 Secondary - Drinking water standards
Contaminant Secondary Standard
Aluminum 0.05 to 0.2 mg/L
Chloride 250 mg/L
Color 15 (color units)
Copper 1.0 mg/L
Corrosivity noncorrosive
Fluoride 2.0 mg/L
Foaming Agents 0.5 mg/L
Iron 0.3 mg/L
Manganese 0.05 mg/L
Odor 3 threshold odor number
pH 6.5-8.5
Silver 0.10 mg/L
Sulfate 250 mg/L
Total Dissolved Solids 500 mg/L
Zinc 5 mg/L
Irrigation water quality – salinity and sodium
hazards
• the total concentration of soluble salts (TDS or EC)
• the relative proportion of sodium to the other cations,
• the bicarbonate concentration as related to the
concentration of calcium and magnesium, and
• the concentrations of specific elements and compounds.
• Sodium adsorption ratio is given
• SAR = [sodium]/[calcium][magnesium]
 Others standards

• Domestic Wastewater effluent standards- pH,

mercury, cyanide, turbidity, DO level
• Industrial water standards – Varies with type of
goods being manufactured
• Industrial waster water effluent – Heavy metals
• Bathing water – swimming pools etc
• Nb: Standards can be national (WRMA), regional
(EAC) or international (WHO, EPA)
WATER QUALITY
INTERVENTIONS
 Causes of water pollution

• Sewage and organic waste.

• Chemical pollutants and other toxic materials from
industrial processes.
• Fertilizers and other nutrients that cause eutrophication
(a process where water bodies such as lakes become
concentrated with nutrients leading to growth of algae
and other organisms).
• Bacteria and other microbiological agents.
• Silts and other solids that do not easily dissolve in water
and which obstruct water flow.
• Pesticides and other agricultural processes.
1. Identify the sources of water pollution (
http://ga.water.usgs.gov/edu/waterquality.html)
Choosing Water resources – Starting point of
WQ interventions

• Water Quality - How good is it?

• Affordability - What does it cost?
• Adequacy – Can it supply enough water?
• Reliability - How long will it last?
• Convenience - How far away is it from
homesteads?
 General information of water sources
Sources Quality Quantity Accessibility Reliability Cost

Good,
Depends on the
maintenance on
Good quality for deep best location of
Good with little pump required Moderate if need
Groundwater aquifers; poor to fair well; pumping
variation regularly, must to pump
for shallow aquifers required unless
not over pump the
artesian well
aquifer

Good with little Good for artesian

Storage necessary
variation for flow and gravity
Good quality; for community
artesian flow overflow; fair for
disinfection water supply; Fairly low cost;
Springs and springs; variable gravity
recommended after gravity flow with piped system
Seeps with seasonal depression; little
installation of spring delivery for easy costs will rise.
fluctuations likely maintenance
protection. community
for gravity flow needed after
access.
springs. installation.

Fair to good; need

Fair to good in large Very accessible for a good
ponds and lakes; poor Good available using intakes; program of Moderate to high
Ponds and to fair in smaller quantity; decrease pumping required operation and because of need to
Lakes water bodies; during dry for delivery maintenance for pump and treat
treatment generally season. system; storage pumping and water.
necessary. required. treatment
systems.
 Information of water sources

Sources Quality Quantity Accessibility Reliability Cost

Maintenance
Moderate: required for both Moderate to high
Good for mountain Generally good;
seasonal variation type systems; depending on
streams; poor for need intake for
Streams and likely; some rivers much higher for method;
streams in lowland both gravity flow
Rivers and streams will pumped system; treatment and
regions; treatment and piped
dry up in dry riverside well is a pumping
necessary. delivery.
season. good reliable expensive.
source.

Moderate and Good; cisterns Low-moderate

Must be rain;
Fair to poor; variable; supplies located in yards for roof
Rain some
disinfection unavailable during of users; fair for catchments; high
Catchments maintenance
necessary dry season; storage ground for ground
required.
necessary. catchments. catchments
 Community actions to improve WQ
Source of pollution What the communities can do
Agricultural: from o Managing pastures to maintain vegetative cover and stable soils
both agriculture o Employing conservation farming technique
practices and o Minimizing stock access to streams and damage to stream banks
livestock rearing.

Storm water: o Actively controlling erosion problems Constructing farm dams to

Generated by encourage water plant growth so that they act as filters for run-off
rainfall storms

Sewer o Maintaining and operating on-site household wastewater systems

(septic tanks and aerated wastewater treatment units) to prevent
nutrients getting into streams or groundwater

Industrial o regulating industrial activities, as well as controlling diffuse sources, to

prevent water pollution
o Protecting local wetlands for their role in filtering sediment and
nutrients and providing a diversity of wildlife habitat
o Reusing effluent where possible
 6. Improvement on;
1. Strong Information Baseline
• Poor pollution monitoring by effluent dischargers
2. Create high Compliance to Regulations mechanisms
• Low priority by industry on wastewater treatment
• Ignorance on existing regulations
• Historically weak enforcement
3. Develop adequate Infrastructure
• Inadequate capacity of treatment plants
• Frequent sewerage bursts / sewer spills
• Poor management of dumping sites
• Poor disposal of wastes especially in informal settlements
• Storm water drainage
• Expansion of Juakali Industry
 Carry out Pollution assessment & Monitoring
• Extent of industrial, domestic, agricultural etc wastes
• How many permits issued and are standards adhered to
• Are there legislation to prevent littering
• What are the distribution of land use in the catchments
• What is the population growth rate
• What is the attitude of local people towards pollution
• Are there water borne diseases
• Are there changes in animal and plant communities with
time..
• Are polluters punished
 Strengthen the Guiding Principles for Water
Pollution Control
• Prevent pollution rather than treating symptoms
of pollution
• Use the precautionary principle
• Apply the Polluter Pays Principle
• Apply realistic standards and regulations
• Balance economic and regulatory instruments
• Apply water pollution control at the lowest
appropriate level
• Establish mechanisms for cross -sectoral
integration
 Guiding Principles cont;
• Encourage participatory approaches with
involvement of all relevant stakeholders
• Give open access to information on water
pollution
• Promote international cooperation on water
pollution control