An overview of water pollution status in Ethiopia with a particular emphasis on Akaki River

A Review

Authors

  • Engida Teshome Mekonnen Wuhan university of technology Author
  • Sintayehu Abate Temesgen Ethiopian Public Health Institute Author
  • Wujumie Chinese Academy of Sciences Author
  • Dong xu Chinese Academy of Sciences Author
  • Zhenbin WU Wuhan university of technology Author

Keywords:

Ethiopia, Addis Ababa, Akaki River, source of pollution, physical, chemical and bacteriological

Abstract

Introduction: Today, water pollution problem is heard all over the globe because of the ever increasing population, industrialization, urbanization and other human activities. Ethiopia too is facing the problem of water quality deterioration. At the capital city of the country where the problem of water pollution is at its highest state at present endowed with numerous seasonal and perennial small streams that flow to the little and Great Akaki Rivers.

Objective: To review Akaki river pollution status, major sources water pollution and implication of the pollutants

Methods: The review was organized reputable journals, articles, and review papers were used using searching key phrases “water pollution in Ethiopia with a particular emphasis on Akaki River”.

Results: The reviewed result showed that, sludge and wastewater from Addis Ababa City dwellers and sewer outfalls of pollution have made a significant contribution to the worsening of the Akaki Rivers water quality. The poor sanitation facilities and services of Addis Ababa, as well as lack of proper attention to Akaki Rivers water quality management. At its present situation, the river is not better than an open sewer conveying from weak to medium strength domestic wastewater. The physical, chemical & bacteriological analytical results of the rivers indicate that the river is polluted much beyond the concentration range of the quality specification and the provisional ambient water quality standard developed by the federal EPA and other countries. 

Conclusion: Nearly all study results revealed that the rivers’ water does not satisfy the basic standard requirements of water supply for human consumption, domestic purposes, irrigation and animal drinking. Besides these, it was observed during different surveys that the rivers’ water is serving for irrigation, bathing, and human and cattle drinking and all domestic purposes even though it is polluted and unsafe. Because of this water-related human health problems such as diarrhea, dysentery, amoebiasis, ascariasis, and others will be common.

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Author Biographies

  • Engida Teshome Mekonnen, Wuhan university of technology

    School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan university of technology, Wuhan, P.R, China
    State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology; Institute of Hydrobiology,
    Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R China

  • Sintayehu Abate Temesgen, Ethiopian Public Health Institute

    Ethiopian Public Health Institute, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

  • Wujumie, Chinese Academy of Sciences

    State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology; Institute of Hydrobiology,
    Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R China

  • Dong xu, Chinese Academy of Sciences

    State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology; Institute of Hydrobiology,
    Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R China

  • Zhenbin WU, Wuhan university of technology

    School of Resources and Environmental Engineering, Wuhan university of technology, Wuhan, P.R, China
    State Key Laboratory of Freshwater Ecology and Biotechnology; Institute of Hydrobiology,
    Chinese Academy of Sciences, Wuhan, P.R China

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Published

2019-06-28

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Section

Original Article

How to Cite

Teshome , E. (2019) “An overview of water pollution status in Ethiopia with a particular emphasis on Akaki River: A Review”, Ethiopian Journal of Public Health and Nutrition (EJPHN), 3(2), pp. 120–128. Available at: https://ejphn.ephi.gov.et/index.php/ejphn/article/view/151 (Accessed: 8 November 2024).

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