LONGITUDINAL AND SEASONAL VARIATIONS IN PHYSICOCHEMICAL AND MICROBIOLOGICAL PROPERTIES OF WATER QUALITY OF SOSIANI RIVER, UASIN GISHU COUNTY, KENYA EDWARD JUMA MASAKHA A thesis submitted to the Graduate School in partial fulfilment for the requirements of the Doctor of Philosophy Degree in Environmental Science of Egerton University EGERTON UNIVERSITY APRIL 2019 DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION Declaration This thesis is my original work and has not been submitted or presented for examination in any other institution either in part or as a whole. Signature: -------------------------- Date: -------------------------------- Edward Juma Masakha ND12/0421/14 Recommendation This thesis has been submitted for examination with our approval as university supervisors Signature: ----------------------------------- Date: --------------------------------- Prof. Wilkister Nyaora Moturi Department of Environmental Science Egerton University Signature: ----------------------------------- Date: --------------------------------- Prof. George Morara Ogendi Department of Environmental Science Egerton University ii COPYRIGHT © 2019Edward Juma Masakha, All Rights ReservedNo part of this thesis may be reproduced, stored in any retrieval system, or transmitted in any form or by any means: electronic, mechanical, photocopying, recording, or otherwise, without prior written permission from the author or Egerton University. iii DEDICATION To my late parents Peris and Fred Masakha, my wife Joyce Cherotich Nyangwaria and our children: Sheila, Shanice, Sheena, Shaleen and Fred Masakha, for being a great source of joy and inspiration in my life. iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS Foremost I thank the almighty God for good health and enabling me come this far in my studies. Secondly I thank Egerton University for offering me an opportunity to pursue my Doctor of philosophy degree in Environmental Science. In particular, I owe great debt of gratitude to my supervisors, Prof. Wilkister N. Moturi and Prof. George M. Ogendi for spending their invaluable time, tirelessly advising, mentoring and guiding this study to a successful completion. I am equally indebted to members of the Faculty of Environment and Resources Development (FERD) for their inspiration and constructive criticism which enhanced the perspective and structuring of this thesis. Similarly, I acknowledge the following institutions and individuals whose collaborative efforts made this study fruitful: the National Council of Science Technology and Innovation, Moi Teaching and Referral Hospital (MTRH) and Institutional Research and Ethics Committee for their formal approval and issuance of the necessary research permits that enabled me collect research data. My profound gratitude go to Mr. John Njungo of WRA Laboratories for analysing the water samples; Ms. Joyce C. Bii of MTRH, Mr. Milton Kirui and Mr. Daniel Cheruiyot of Uasin Gishu County Hospital for assisting me access medical data on water related diseases in Eldoret that contributed immensely to the results presented in this thesis. I also express my deep gratitude to the following informants from a number of institutions for their insightful information which enriched this study: Dr. Jackson Mzee the County Director Veterinary Services; Mr. Valentine Lala the County Director Environment and Mr. John Otiego the County Director Fisheries Uasin Gishu County. Similarly, I am indebted to Mr. Shem Oyomba, the research assistant, whose knowledge of the study area was useful in identifying residents living along Sosiani River and administering the research questionnaires. I am equally grateful to Mr. George Kanda of Moi University, Geography Department, for drawing the map of the study area and Mr. Wallace Ngolo of NEMA GIS Department, for mapping the effluent discharge points. My special thanks go to the Ministry of Environment and Natural Resources for funding the water sampling and Mr. Ayub Anapapa of Jomo Kenyatta University for assisting in data analysis. Above all, I sincerely thank the respondents in the household survey for providing useful information and data that formed the base of this study. Last but not least, I owe a great favour to those who spent their invaluable time proof reading this thesis and in a special way my family for moral and financial support. v ABSTRACT Water pollution is the change in physico-chemical and biological properties of water quality that is harmful to living things. It is caused by pollutants drawn from point and non point sources of pollution including industrial and agricultural effluents. It can also be attributed to inappropriate use of chemicals and haphazard disposal of waste. It has become a global concern due to the lethal and sublethal effects on fauna and flora. Sosiani River traverses Eldoret town, draining effluent openly discharged. This river is an important source of industrial and domestic water for residents living in Eldoret, Turbo and along the riparian. This study assessed longitudinal and seasonal variations in physicochemical and microbiological water quality. Composite water samples were collected from 13 effluent discharge points along Sosiani River for one year and analyzed using American Public Health Association water sampling and processing procedures. Medical data was collected from health facilities in Eldoret Township. Data was managed using Statistical Packages for Social Sciences version 20. Both descriptive and inferential statistics like analysis of variance, correlation and regression analysis were used in analysing the resultant data. Sosiani River exhibited high mean levels of turbidity at 64 ± 53.4 Nephelometric Turbidity Units, high biological oxygen demand at 122.8 ± 123.8mg/L, high chemical oxygen demand at 205.0 ± 190.2 mg/L, high total suspended solids at 173 ± 34.14 mg/L, high total dissolved solids at 171.3 ± 11.66mg/L, Escherichia coli at 57.0 ± 54.3mg/L Colony Forming Units /100ml, total coliforms at 135.1 ± 119.6CFU/100ml and cadmium at 0.048 ± 0.07mg/L above National Environment Management Authority (NEMA) guidelines. Sosiani River exhibited significant differences in seasonal and longitudinal variations in physico-chemical and microbiological properties of water quality at P<0.005. The river exhibited significant seasonal and longitudinal variation in levels of Escherichia coli at F = 5.10 and P < 0.001. However, prevalent water borne diseases in the study area; diarrhoea at t = 0.6387, P < 0.5374; dysentery at t = 1.2839 P < 0.2281 and typhoid at t = 0.3588, P < 0.7272 did not vary significantly during the dry and wet season. Water Resource Authority and NEMA should ensure all industries and hotels use constructed wetlands or are connected to the centralised sewerage system. The County Government should relocate Huruma dumpsite from the banks of the river and plant trees and grass along the river. Residents should treat drinking water sourced from Sosiani River at household level. Finally access to adequate sanitation should be increased to curb haphazard disposal of solid and liquid waste. vi TABLE OF CONTENTS DECLARATION AND RECOMMENDATION ................................................................ ii COPYRIGHT ........................................................................................................................ iii DEDICATION....................................................................................................................... iv ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS .................................................................................................. v ABSTRACT ........................................................................................................................... vi TABLE OF CONTENTS .................................................................................................... vii LIST OF TABLES ................................................................................................................ xi LIST OF FIGURES ............................................................................................................. xii LIST OF PLATES ............................................................................................................... xii LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AND ACRONYMS ........................................................... xv CHAPTER ONE .................................................................................................................... 1 INTRODUCTION.................................................................................................................. 1 1.1 Background Information .................................................................................................... 1 1.2 Statement of the Problem ................................................................................................... 5 1.3 Objectives .......................................................................................................................... 6 1.3.1 Broad Objective ........................................................................................................ 6 1.3.2 Specific Objectives ................................................................................................... 6 1.4 Hypotheses ......................................................................................................................... 6 1.5 Justification of the Study ................................................................................................... 7 1.6 Scope and Limitation of the Study....................................................................................