Microbial drinking water quality assessment of hand-dug shallow wells and health risk assessment for Redcliff town, Zimbabwe
- Author
- Madhobha, N .K.
- Title
- Microbial drinking water quality assessment of hand-dug shallow wells and health risk assessment for Redcliff town, Zimbabwe
- Abstract
- This research evaluated microbial water quality of the hand-dug shallow wells and assessed the related health risks in Redcliff town, Zimbabwe. There were 25 functioning wells that were purposively selected in high-, medium-, and low-density suburbs by using a stratified sampling strategy. Water was sampled and the membrane filtration method was used to identify Escherichia coli and faecal coliforms. 84% of the wells had over World Health Organization (WHO) hazardous concentrations of E. coli, with the highest levels of contamination in high-density suburbs. Only one well was in conformity with WHO safety standards. A Kruskal-Wallis H test established statistically significant differences among suburb densities in contamination levels (p < 0.001). Health Risk Assessment (HRA) model showed high-density dwellers to be at severe risk for infection with 12.7 disability-adjusted life years (DALYs) for each 1000 population. The evidence confirmed a definite relationship between microbial contamination, unhygienic sanitation, and population density. The research concluded that Redcliff hand-dug wells constitute a public health risk, particularly in the urban setting, and suggested adopting intervention strategies such as water treatment, protection of wellheads, and monitoring of water quality.
- Date
- OCTOBER 2025
- Publisher
- BUSE
- Keywords
- drinking water
- shallow wells
- health risks
- Supervisor
- Dr. A. Kanda
- Media
-
Madhobha - SHEM.pdf