Physio-chemical properties of water in the shores of Lake Victoria: a case study in Namayingo District

Abstract

Water is one of the most valuable resources that is found on planet earth. It’s a fundamental compound to all forms of life, every living thing needs water not just for drinking or cleaning purposes but for general life existence. This study was conducted in Namayingo district, Bukana Sub- County in eastern Uganda, neighboring the Republic of Kenya in the east and southeast and the Republic of Tanzania in the south. The physiochemical properties of water (pH, DO, BOD, conductivity) was measured by different methods which includes pH meter, winkler method, and conductivity meter, several samples were collected from three different sites for experimentation and that is Atega landing site, Buduma fishing site and Namavundu fishing site. During the study, it was found out that the water in these three different sites have slightly distinct values which are in the range of, pH 8.5-9.1, DO 6.0-6.8 and BOD 5.6-6.0 and conductivity 1110-1370 µS/cm. These deviates from recommended values by World Health Organization which is in the range of 50-100 µS/cm for ground, surface and drinking water (seen in Table 2), and BOD value of less than 5 (<5). This shows clearly that water of Lake Victoria in Namayingo District is not safe for human consumption since its values of physiochemical properties are different from the ones recommended by WHO. This challenge can be addressed through different methods like sensitization and setting up strict laws and others to improve on water quality.