Publication Details

Category Text Publication
Reference Category Journals
DOI 10.1007/s11270-023-06237-4
Document Shareable Link
Title (Primary) Water quality degradation in urban rivers of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: changes, status, and causes
Author Yao, C.; Han, C.; Wang, Z.; Friese, K.; Wang, Y.; Zuo, S.; Kimirei, I.A.; Kishe, M.A.; Gao, Q.; Xiong, C.; Guo, Z.; Yuan, Y.; Zhang, J.; Zhang, L.; Chen, S.S.; Shen, Q.
Source Titel Water Air and Soil Pollution
Year 2023
Department SEEFO
Volume 234
Issue 4
Page From art. 224
Language englisch
Topic T5 Future Landscapes
Supplements https://static-content.springer.com/esm/art%3A10.1007%2Fs11270-023-06237-4/MediaObjects/11270_2023_6237_MOESM1_ESM.pdf
Keywords Water quality index (WQI); River; Nitrogen; Phosphorous; Pollution
Abstract Water quality degradation of urban rivers has become a serious constraint to the sustainable development of big cities in sub-Saharan Africa, and few systematic quantitative studies have been conducted on this issue. Here, we studied three main urban rivers: Mzinga River, Kizinga River, and Msimbazi River in Dar es Salaam, the largest port city on the west coast of the Indian Ocean. The spatial and temporal changes of the physicochemical parameters including DO, pH, oxidation–reduction potential (ORP), electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, total nitrogen (TN), total dissolved nitrogen (TDN), dissolved inorganic nitrogen (DIN), chemical oxygen demand (CODMn), total phosphorus (TP), total dissolved phosphorus (TDP), soluble reactive phosphate (SRP), and water quality index (WQI) were investigated. The results showed that the middle and lower reaches of the three rivers were severely polluted with N (nitrogen) and P (phosphorus) with pollution increasing from the upstream to the downstream. WQI results showed that the water quality of Msimbazi River was in the “poor” category and fluctuated temporally and spatially. Principal component analyses (PCA) implied that redox status and N were the main factors affecting the water quality of the rivers. Unregulated discharges of untreated municipal and industrial wastewaters were the main drivers of water quality degradation in the rivers. Rapid urbanization characterized by population explosion and the small handicraft industry aggravated the situation. Source control and end treatment are urgently needed to prevent the water quality of the urban rivers in Dar es Salaam from deteriorating further.
Persistent UFZ Identifier https://www.ufz.de/index.php?en=20939&ufzPublicationIdentifier=22922
Yao, C., Han, C., Wang, Z., Friese, K., Wang, Y., Zuo, S., Kimirei, I.A., Kishe, M.A., Gao, Q., Xiong, C., Guo, Z., Yuan, Y., Zhang, J., Zhang, L., Chen, S.S., Shen, Q. (2023):
Water quality degradation in urban rivers of Dar es Salaam, Tanzania: changes, status, and causes
Water Air Soil Pollut. 234 (4), art. 224 10.1007/s11270-023-06237-4