Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda
Abstract
:1. Introduction
2. Analytical Framework
3. Research Design and Methodology
3.1. Study Area
3.2. Groundwater Sample Collection and Water Quality Analysis
3.3. The Transition Arenas and Key Informant Interviews
3.4. Data Analysis
4. Findings
4.1. Groundwater Contamination by On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement
4.2. Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination by OSS in the Bwaise Informal Settlement
“The NWSC only promotes piped water but does not venture much into the groundwater… They are looking at getting profits out of the service (water services), so they are focusing more on the revenue than protection.”
“When it rains, running water (flood water) gathers garbage from a higher altitude and brings it down to lower areas … other people open up their toilets during the rainy season where they allow running water by rain to take all the feces into the groundwater.”
“…one of my kids took (drunk) the water from the spring (not boiled), and that night we had to rush to the hospital with serious diarrhea.”
5. Discussion
6. Conclusions
Supplementary Materials
Author Contributions
Funding
Institutional Review Board Statement
Informed Consent Statement
Data Availability Statement
Acknowledgments
Conflicts of Interest
Appendix A
Acronym | Description |
---|---|
DRASTIC | Depth to groundwater, net recharge to the aquifer, aquifer media, soil media, topography, the impact of the vadose zone, and conductivity of the aquifer |
GOD | Groundwater occurrence including recharge, overlying lithology, and depth to groundwater |
HYDRUS | A dual-porosity model for simulating water, heat, and solute movement in the unsaturated zone between the soil surface and the groundwater table |
IWRM | Integrated water resources management |
LUGIVE | Land-use management, user attributes, governance, infrastructure management, groundwater valuation (niche), and the operating environment (this paper) |
MLP | Multi-level perspective |
MIKE SHE | A physically based, integrated water resources model that simulates both surface and subsurface water dynamics, including interception, evapotranspiration, overland flow, channel flow, unsaturated flow, and saturated zone flow. |
MODFLOW | Three-Dimension Finite-Difference Groundwater Flow Model (US Geological Survey) |
OSS | On-site sanitation systems (including pit latrines and septic tanks) |
SDG | Sustainable Development Goals (United Nations) |
SINTACS | Depth to groundwater, recharge action, attenuation potential of the vadose zone, attenuation potential of the soil, hydrogeologic characteristics of the aquifer, hydraulic conductivity, and topographic slope. |
WSP | Water safety plan |
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Participant Descriptors | Number of Respondents |
---|---|
Bwaise community members | 2 |
Water utility (National Water and Sewerage Corporation) | 3 |
City authority (Kampala Capital City Authority) | 3 |
Civil society | 5 |
Development partners | 2 |
Private sector (Consultants) | 3 |
Research institutions | 2 |
National Environmental Management Authority | 3 |
Ministry of Water and Environment | 8 |
Ministry of Health | 3 |
34 |
Parameters | Dry Season | Wet Season | WHO Guidelines [54] | Uganda Standards [55] | ||||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Min. | Max. | Mean | Stan. Dev. | Min. | Max. | Mean | Stan. Dev. | |||
Nitrate | 1.0 | 231 | 34 | 60 | 0.1 | 208 | 35 | 59 | 50 | 45 |
Chloride | 2.3 | 87 | 22 | 21 | 2.5 | 103 | 25 | 27 | - | 250 |
Ammonia | 0.0 | 3.9 | 0.6 | 1.0 | 0.0 | 2.2 | 0.2 | 0.5 | - | 0.5 |
Sulphate | 2.1 | 20 | 8.9 | 5.1 | 2.4 | 18 | 8.2 | 4.8 | - | 400 |
Analytical Level | Socio-Institutional Drivers | Indicators |
---|---|---|
Socio-technical regime influences | Land-use management | Access to land for sanitation improvement activities Level of urbanization Level of physical planning Level of catchment protection measures |
Infrastructure management | Access to improved sanitation infrastructure Cost of improved sanitation infrastructure Access to municipal water infrastructure Level of drainage infrastructure | |
User attributes | Safe water chain practices Behaviors and attitudes Waste disposal practices Perceptions to groundwater quality Poverty levels (unemployment levels) Influence of religious and cultural beliefs | |
Governance | Groundwater management practices Attention to common-pool resources Level of sanitation service chain management Effectiveness of policy and regulatory mechanisms Level of financing Political interference in enforcement Actor performance and collaborations Capacity at the community level Weaknesses in decentralization of resources (finances) Policy and regulation limitations Application of science, research, and innovation Competition from the municipal water supply | |
Socio-technical landscape influences | Operating environment | International and regional collaborative networks Level of industrialization Supportive governance Natural phenomena (climate change effects) |
Niche influences | Groundwater valuation | Groundwater utilization Community awareness Community support and participation |
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Share and Cite
Twinomucunguzi, F.R.B.; Silvestri, G.; Kinobe, J.; Mugabi, A.; Isoke, J.; Nyenje, P.M.; Foppen, J.W.; Kulabako, R.N.; Kansiime, F. Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda. Water 2021, 13, 2153. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162153
Twinomucunguzi FRB, Silvestri G, Kinobe J, Mugabi A, Isoke J, Nyenje PM, Foppen JW, Kulabako RN, Kansiime F. Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda. Water. 2021; 13(16):2153. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162153
Chicago/Turabian StyleTwinomucunguzi, Felix R. B., Giorgia Silvestri, Joel Kinobe, Allan Mugabi, Jenifer Isoke, Philip M. Nyenje, Jan Willem Foppen, Robinah N. Kulabako, and Frank Kansiime. 2021. "Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda" Water 13, no. 16: 2153. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162153
APA StyleTwinomucunguzi, F. R. B., Silvestri, G., Kinobe, J., Mugabi, A., Isoke, J., Nyenje, P. M., Foppen, J. W., Kulabako, R. N., & Kansiime, F. (2021). Socio-Institutional Drivers of Groundwater Contamination Hazards: The Case of On-Site Sanitation in the Bwaise Informal Settlement, Kampala, Uganda. Water, 13(16), 2153. https://doi.org/10.3390/w13162153