Assessment of the stream's assimilative capacity using the streeter Phelps model... (Nakawa stream).

Abstract

Water is an essential resource on earth; without it no life is possible, it aids human civilization, ecological integrity, ecosystem functioning, bio-diversity of the lake resources and environment conservation. Uganda has undergone through economic reforms that have led to increased industrialization, urbanization and high rates of population growth, this has increased water use and escalated its degradation due to the prevalent effluent discharge in to the water resources. The water resources have the ability to purify them-selves naturally after pollution but in some case contamination is done quickly and to a much higher degree that it exceeds the self-purification capacity of a stream. This poses danger to the present and future generations unless proper management plans for judicious utilization of the resource for sustainable development is effectively implemented. Effective water resource management involves conducting studies on the self-purification capacity of the stream/river. Self-purification is the process in. which balance restoration of the aquatic environment takes place through simultaneous participation or in some sequence of the physical and chemical factors; biological and hydraulic characteristics of- the river/stream. Analysis of these factors gives, us complex information about water quality and an attempt is made through this project in assessing the assimilative capacity of stream through DO/BOD modeling using streeter Phelps equations. Samples are going to be collected from the point source effluent discharger and from both the upstream and downstream areas of the stream; these samples are going to be tested for DO, BOD and Temperature before mixing and after mixing, the results are going to be fed in to the model to compute the various DO deficits downstream and also determine the minimum DO concentration which will determine the streams ability to purify its self after pollution.