A study was carried out between November 2010 and April 2011 to assess the availability and potability of water from alternative water sources in Harare, Zimbabwe＇s capital city. A survey of 256 households from a tot...A study was carried out between November 2010 and April 2011 to assess the availability and potability of water from alternative water sources in Harare, Zimbabwe＇s capital city. A survey of 256 households from a total of 10 high, medium and low income suburbs and informal settlements was undertaken to assess types and amount of water consumed. This was complemented by a water quality study that assessed a selection of physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters. Quality of the water was compared to World Health Organisation and Zimbabwean standards. All households were found to rely on water sources other than municipal water. Per capita water consumption across settlements was found to be below the recommended upper limit of 50 litres per person per day except in one high income suburb, but above the recommended lower limit of 15 litres. All samples were within the acceptable limit for color but above the acceptable limit for turbidity. Chemical parameters were found to be within the acceptable range except for total hardness, where 35% of the samples were above the acceptable range. About a third of the samples from low income suburbs and informal settlements were above the acceptable limit for faecal and total coliforms.展开更多
文摘A study was carried out between November 2010 and April 2011 to assess the availability and potability of water from alternative water sources in Harare, Zimbabwe＇s capital city. A survey of 256 households from a total of 10 high, medium and low income suburbs and informal settlements was undertaken to assess types and amount of water consumed. This was complemented by a water quality study that assessed a selection of physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters. Quality of the water was compared to World Health Organisation and Zimbabwean standards. All households were found to rely on water sources other than municipal water. Per capita water consumption across settlements was found to be below the recommended upper limit of 50 litres per person per day except in one high income suburb, but above the recommended lower limit of 15 litres. All samples were within the acceptable limit for color but above the acceptable limit for turbidity. Chemical parameters were found to be within the acceptable range except for total hardness, where 35% of the samples were above the acceptable range. About a third of the samples from low income suburbs and informal settlements were above the acceptable limit for faecal and total coliforms.
