Correlation among Municipal Solid Waste Pollution, Fecal Coliform Water Pollution and Water Borne Diseases in Juba/South Sudan

Abstract

This study was carried out to investigate the correlation among municipal solid waste pollution, fecal coliform water pollution and water-borne diseases such as; typhoid and diarrhea in Juba city, South Sudan. Water samples were collected from the river Nile, boreholes and a well and then analyzed for the presence of fecal coliform; also physical parameters such as temperature, pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) and Electrical Conductivity (EC) were tested. The results revealed that the river Nile is highly contaminated; with an average range of 15.25 – 102.6 Coliform Forming Unit/100ml (CFU/100ml). The pH and temperature were within the normal range. TDS showed very high values with range of 470 – 1230 mg/L which is far beyond the USEPA and WHO recommended 500 mg/L. The EC was not so high; ranges between 59µs - 201µs/cm which is slightly above the recommended 160 µs/cm. The CFU/100ml readings of the boreholes and the well were within the range of 0 – 26 CFU/100ml. Out of the eleven sampled boreholes, six were clean with 0 CFU/100ml which meets the USEPA and WHO recommended value but the other five and the well were contaminated. The TDS and EC were extremely high ranging between 4810 – 8230 mg/L and 1032 – 1775 µs/cm respectively. pH and temperature were within normal range. The study also found that there is strong correlation between typhoid and water contaminated with fecal coliform while the reverse is true for diarrhea. The degree of linearity (correlation) between fecal coliform (CFU/100ml) and Typhoid Fever was further confirmed by conducting a test of hypotheses (t-test statistic) at 5% significance level on the correlation coefficients determined. The study concluded that, the poor municipal solid waste management in Juba is posing high risk to the human health and the environment.