Deterioration Of Stored Domestic Water Quality And Diarrhoea In Zenu

Abstract

300 selected households were visited in Zenu, a peri-urban town in the Tema municipality of the Greater Accra Region of Ghana from July to October 2001. Data was collected on the water related practices and diarrhoea recall by the administration of a simple questionnaire. A total of 293 completed responses were obtained. There were three main sources of water in the town; direct pipe (pipeborne), stored treated water (tank) and dam water. Though majority of households used the tank water only, about 35% of households used a combination of the available water sources i.e. potable and unpotable or unimproved sources. The information obtained on diarrhoea prevalence and drinking water storage shows that the use of unimproved drinking water sources; use of storage vessels for other household activities and the period of replenishment was associated with diarrhoea. Storage of water per se was however not found to be associated with diarrhoea. In order to establish the deterioration of stored water quality in the home, water samples were collected from representative households for each of the drinking water sources; direct tap water, stored tank water or dam water. Cultures for coliform bacteria were done using E. coli as the main outcome indicator of contamination of stored water. The count in samples with organisms was used as an index of contamination. Apart from the direct tap water collected at source, coliforms were found in all the samples from the source to the consumer level. The levels of contamination also increased from the source to the consumer level giving evidence for contamination in the home. The evidence of contamination of domestic stored water together with the need to store water in the home suggests that residents should pay more attention to personal hygiene practices in their homes.