Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene Africa Water & Sanitation & Hygiene May -June 2017 | Page 7

NEWS in brief
Nigeria
Public Water Samples Show Harmful Germs
By Hussein Yahaya, Taiwo Adeniyi, Christiana T. Alabi,
Tony Adibe, Ibrahim Mus
Around Africa
The source of disease causing organisms, according
to the analysts, might be the water board treated water;
dirty storage tank(s); inappropriate sample collection,
sample handling, contaminated sample container; possible
insanitary condition of surroundings leaking service
pipe(s) and or combination of both.
According to the Nigerian Industrial Standard (NIS
554:2007) by NSDWQ, the health impact of drinking
water that exceeded the maximum limits of Total Coliform
Count and Thermotolerant Coliform include, “urinary
tract infections, bacteraemia, diarrhoea, (one of the main
cause of morbidity and mortality among children), acute
renal failure and haemolytic anaemia.”
South Africa
Cape Town lowers daily water usage target
By Lynne Arendse
Abuja, Kaduna and Enugu — A Daily Trust independent
water investigation reveals germs which are harmful to
human health.
Water samples obtained from different locations in
Abuja, Lagos and Kaduna indicated the presence of
microbiological organisms that exceeded the maximum
permissible level by the World Health Organization
(WHO) and the Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water
Quality (NSDWQ) limits.
Daily Trust had conducted an analysis of public water
from seven states including Enugu, Plateau, Katsina and
Kano states at different testing centres.
Water sample taken from Emeka Anyaoku Street, Area
11, Garki, Abuja recently and tested at the National Water
Resources Institute, Kaduna showed “20 cfu/100ml of
Thermotolerant Coliform which exceeded the 0cfu/100ml
maximum permissible level (mpl) by the WHO and the
Nigerian Industrial Standard 554: 2007.”
Thermotolerant Coliform are the commonly used bacterial
indicator for sanitary quality of water.
Also, the Total Coliform in the sample was 37cfu/ml,
which exceeded the maximum permissible level of 10cfu/
ml by the WHO and NSDWQ.
The American Public Health Association (19th Edition)
was used in the testing while it showed some potential
pathogenic (diseases causing) organisms from faecal and
environmental origins.
The analysis signed by the institute’s head, Water Supply
and Sanitation, Ahmed Salisu Hassan, and analyzed by
Agboola Irene Omolara, revealed that the values of faecal
coliform and total coliforms indicator organisms are above
the standard guideline values recommended for drinking
water.
The City of Cape
Town says people tend
to use water as soon it
heats up, but seemingly
also when there is rain
which is not sustainable
/(SABC)
The City of Cape Town has lowered the municipality’s
collective daily water usage target to 600 million litres as
dam levels in the Western Cape continue to decline.
Last week, the city reached its water savings target of 700
million litres of water per day, but the city says the current
consumption rate in the city is still too high, with dam
levels in the city at just over 22 percent.
Mayoral Committee Member for Water and Energy,
Xanthea Limberg says, “The climatic conditions continue
to be erratic and it seems as if many consumers respond
directly to that - in other words, they use more water as
soon as it heats up, but seemingly also when there is rain,
which is not sustainable. We must use water in a consistent
manner during this time of crisis.”
South Sudan
Water Crisis in Various Parts of Sudan
Abu Jubaiha / Sennar / Khartoum — Residents of four
villages in Abu Jubaiha in South Kordofan are facing
a severe drinking water crisis. People in eastern Sudan’s
Sennar and El Gedaref are complaining about thirst as
well. Khartoum plans to significantly improve the water
supply in Red Sea state
Recently it was that the villages of Gereid, Um Saga,
Sefeira, and El Tardiya are suffering from thirst for more
than a month.
Africa Water, Sanitation & Hygiene • May - June 2017
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