WATER QUALITY
STANDARDS
Part of history making
Types of water ?
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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
Water hyacinth in lakes and rivers due to pollution
-chokes fish landing sites, e.t.c.
Setting the WQ standards
• Water quality criterion (water quality guideline) –
Needed to support and maintain a designated water use.
who sets the guidelines in Kenya?
• 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.
Advantages of Water Quality Objectives
• Focuses on solving problems caused by conflicts
between the various demands placed on water
resources, particularly related to assimilated
pollution.
• Enables an overall limit on levels of contaminants
within a water body to be set according to the
required uses of the water.
• It treats industry equitably requiring the use of best
available technology for treating hazardous, as well
as a number of conventional water pollutants
whenever the industry is located.
Primary drinking water standards criteria
• Microorganisms Giardia lamblia; Virus;
Legionella;Turbidity
• Disinfection Byproductsbromate, chlorite,
trihomethanes; haloacetic
acids
• Disinfectantschloramines, chlorine and
chlorine dioxides
• Inorganic Chemicals –
Arsenic, barium, fluoride,
copper, lead,
• Organic Chemicals –
Benzine; Carbon
tetrachloride;
Dichloromethane
• Radionuclides –
Uranium; Alpha particles;
Beta particles and photon
emitters
Secondary - Drinking water standards (EPA)
Contaminant
Aluminum
Chloride
Color
Copper
Corrosivity
Fluoride
Foaming Agents
Iron
Manganese
Odor
pH
Silver
Sulfate
Total Dissolved Solids
Zinc
Secondary Standard
0.05 to 0.2 mg/L
250 mg/L
15 (color units)
1.0 mg/L
noncorrosive
2.0 mg/L
0.5 mg/L
0.3 mg/L
0.05 mg/L
3 threshold odor number
6.5-8.5
0.10 mg/L
250 mg/L
500 mg/L
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
Recall the 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
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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
Good quality for deep
Good with little
Groundwater aquifers; poor to fair
variation
for shallow aquifers
Good with little
variation for
artesian flow
springs; variable
with seasonal
fluctuations likely
for gravity flow
springs.
Accessibility
Reliability
Depends on the
best location of
well; pumping
required unless
artesian well
Good,
maintenance on
pump required
Moderate if need
regularly, must
to pump
not over pump the
aquifer
Storage necessary
for community
water supply;
gravity flow
delivery for easy
community
access.
Good for artesian
flow and gravity
overflow; fair for
Fairly low cost;
gravity
with piped system
depression; little
costs will rise.
maintenance
needed after
installation.
Springs and
Seeps
Good quality;
disinfection
recommended after
installation of spring
protection.
Ponds and
Lakes
Fair to good; need
Fair to good in large
Very accessible
for a good
ponds and lakes; poor
using intakes;
program of
Good available
to fair in smaller
pumping required operation and
quantity; decrease
water bodies;
for delivery
maintenance for
during dry season.
treatment generally
system; storage
pumping and
necessary.
required.
treatment
systems.
Cost
Moderate to high
because of need to
pump and treat
water.
Information of water sources
Sources
Quality
Quantity
Accessibility
Reliability
Cost
Good for mountain
streams; poor for
Streams and
streams in lowland
Rivers
regions; treatment
necessary.
Maintenance
required for both
Moderate: seasonal Generally good;
type systems;
variation likely;
need intake for
much higher for
some rivers and
both gravity flow
pumped system;
streams will dry up and piped
riverside well is a
in dry season.
delivery.
good reliable
source.
Moderate to high
depending on
method;
treatment and
pumping
expensive.
Fair to poor;
Rain
disinfection
Catchments
necessary
Moderate and
variable; supplies
unavailable during
dry season; storage
necessary.
Low-moderate
for roof
catchments; high
for ground
catchments
Good; cisterns
located in yards
of users; fair for
ground
catchments.
Must be rain;
some
maintenance
required.
Community actions to improve WQ
Source of pollution
Agricultural: from
both agriculture
practices and
livestock rearing.
What the communities can do
o Managing pastures to maintain vegetative cover and stable soils
o Employing conservation farming technique
o Minimizing stock access to streams and damage to stream banks
o Actively controlling erosion problems Constructing farm dams to
encourage water plant growth so that they act as filters for runoff
Storm water:
Generated by
rainfall storms
Sewer
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Maintaining and operating on-site household wastewater systems
(septic tanks and aerated wastewater treatment units) to prevent
nutrients getting into streams or groundwater
Industrial
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regulating industrial activities, as well as controlling diffuse sources, to
prevent water pollution
Protecting local wetlands for their role in filtering sediment and
nutrients and providing a diversity of wildlife habitat
Reusing effluent where possible
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2. Embrace IWRM as the best management
tool
1992 Dublin principles
1. Fresh water is finite and vulnerable
resource
2. Water resource planning, development
and management should involve all
stakeholders
3. Women play a central role in water affairs
4. Water has an economic value and should
be viewed as an economic good
IWRM concept application in Kenya
• WRMA recognises the stakeholder participation
as key in restoring the catchment- Catchment
Management Strategy
• MWI has developed the national IWRM plan
• The plan has taken aspects of sustainability into
consideration
• IWRM level of implementation is still very low in
Kenya
IWRM benefits
• Progress in pollution control and
achievements in the programme can only be
quantitatively recognised through water
quality monitoring
• WRMA has adopted the principles of
IWRM in pollution control, several benefits
can be realised.
IWRM benefits cont;
• protecting catchment areas, pollution
control and environmental flows.
• lead to the water security of the world’s
poor and the unserved being assured
• be a stimulus to the sector to push for
recycling, reuse and waste reduction
• will improve the opportunity for
introduction of sustainable sanitation
solutions
3. Holistic Catchment management
•Area
•Length
Y
P (mm)
•Slope
•Forests
•Farms
Rainfall station
•Industries
•Dwelling houses
•Rivers
•Lakes
•Reservoirs
•Wildlife
Gauging station
Divide
•Soil types
•Geology
•Climate
Q(m3/s)
Z
X
4. ECOSAN: Use of new technology
WATER QUALITY
ECOSAN and the linkage to IWRM
INTEGRATED APPROACH (MULTISECTOR)
ECOSAN and the linkage to IWRM
INTEGRATED APPROACH (MULTISECTOR)
5. Inter/intra sectoral coordination
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WRMA
NEMA
KEBS
Ministries
International agencies
Private sector
Need for institutional Coordination
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
WRMA initiatives on Effluent Dischargers
1. To develop an Effluent Discharge Control Plan (EDCP).
2. To have a valid effluent discharge permit before
discharging into the water resources.
3. To maintain records of effluent discharge in terms of
quantity and quality.
4. To install a controlling and measuring device to ensure
water abstracted or effluent discharged is accurately
measured
5. WRMA monitors resource & enforces compliance to WRM
Rules
Observations/recommedations
Carry out Pollution assessment & Monitoring
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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
HOW DO WE OVERCOME ?:
WATER TREATMENT
Reasons for treatment
1.
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5.
Remove smells and odors,
Dissolved gases (Ammonia, hydrogen sulphide)
Kill germs, pathogens, bacteria and viruses
Water hardness
Portable and safe water
Where do we start?
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Water samples – from sources (borehole)
Water examination
Water analysis – Water laboratory
Re-samplying every three months
Checking on transmission lines for
infiltration of sewage water
Methods for purification
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Simplest is boiling
Filtration
Chlorination
Ozone
UV treatment
Water guard (Sodium hypo chlorite)
Distillation
Filters
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Sand filters for large communities
Gravity filters for small communities
Domestic household filters
Filter cartridges ( for many types of ions)
Activated carbon or charcoal filters
Fluoride filters – CDN as a leader
Reverse osmosis – More advanced
The working principles of some specific
filters
1. Ozone filters – Through oxidation process, all organic,
inorganic and biological substances are destroyed
2. Steam distillation – Natural methods which is able to
remove Biological Entities, Heavy Metals, Organic
Chemicals, Inorganic Chemicals & Radioactive Material
3. Carbon filters (Charcoal) – A good media for a wide
range of contaminant like chlorine, pesticides, herbicides
and inorganic materials
4. Far Infrared Light (FIR) - Very suitable for toxin
removal
5. Ultraviolet Light – Very cheap to use – Deactivates the
DNA of bacteria, virus and other pathogens
Working principles Cont;
6. The ceramic water filters – Very cheap and
affordable- removes dirt, microbes, virus
and bacteria
7. CDN Fluoride filters- Single and combined
“These two filters are cheap and wananchi
friendly”
Sand filters
UV filters
Ceramic water filters
CDN Single and combined Fluoride filters
Observations and conclusions
1. Pollution Prevention should Prevails
2. Water sources like Wells or boreholes should be properly
protected and maintained
3. For water supply check pipes and pumps regularly and
seal pipe joints properly
4. Investigate any change in water quality at the earliest
possible time
5. Any change in land use should warrant a water analysis
Observations
• That cheap and affordable WQ filters are can be
available. The government through its appropriate
organs and mechanism should create an enabling
environment for the production and distribution of
these filters to the vulnerable communities
• Education and training on WASH should be
accelerated and taken down to the communities
• Universities, NGO’s, CDN and others should
continue carrying out research on cheaper and
affordable filters made from local material
• Treat NOT ONLY the drinking water but also the
wastewater
Asante sana &
MERCI POUR VOTRE ATTENTION: