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Water quality associated public health risk in Bo, Sierra Leone

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Abstract

Human health depends on reliable access to safe drinking water, but in many developing countries only a limited number of wells and boreholes are available. Many of these water resources are contaminated with biological or chemical pollutants. The goal of this study was to examine water access and quality in urban Bo, Sierra Leone. A health census and community mapping project in one neighborhood in Bo identified the 36 water sources used by the community. A water sample was taken from each water source and tested for a variety of microbiological and physicochemical substances. Only 38.9% of the water sources met World Health Organization (WHO) microbial safety requirements based on fecal coliform levels. Physiochemical analysis indicated that the majority (91.7%) of the water sources met the requirements set by the WHO. In combination, 25% of these water resources met safe drinking water criteria. No variables associated with wells were statistically significant predictors of contamination. This study indicated that fecal contamination is the greatest health risk associated with drinking water. There is a need to raise hygiene awareness and implement inexpensive methods to reduce fecal contamination and improve drinking water safety in Bo, Sierra Leone.

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Acknowledgments

The funding for this project is provided by the Office of Naval Research and the Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition, Technology, and Logistics. We thank Dr. Robert A. Rubins at Whittier College (Whittier, CA) for providing guidance in statistical analysis. We also thank Ms. Anne Kusterbeck and Dr. Jinny Liu for critical review of this manuscript. The opinions and assertions contained herein are those of the authors and none are to be construed as those of the US Department of Defense, US Department of the Navy, any other military service, or Government Agency at large.

Conflicts of interest

None declared.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Njala University, Bo, Sierra Leone

    David H. Jimmy, Abu J. Sundufu, Rashid Ansumana & Alfred S. Bockarie

  2. Mercy Hospital Research Laboratory, Kulanda Town, Bo, Sierra Leone

    David H. Jimmy, Rashid Ansumana, Umaru Bangura & Alfred S. Bockarie

  3. Center for Bio/Molecular Science and Engineering, Naval Research Laboratory, Washington, DC, USA

    Anthony P. Malanoski, Tomasz A. Leski, Baochuan Lin & David A. Stenger

  4. Department of Global and Community Health, George Mason University, Fairfax, VA, USA

    Kathryn H. Jacobsen

  5. Mercy Hospital, Kulanda Town, Bo, Sierra Leone

    Edries Tejan

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  1. David H. Jimmy
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Correspondence to Baochuan Lin.

Additional information

Abu J. Sundufu and Anthony P. Malanoski contributed equally to this manuscript.

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Supplemental Table 1

Levels of anions in underground water samples (DOC 81 kb)

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Jimmy, D.H., Sundufu, A.J., Malanoski, A.P. et al. Water quality associated public health risk in Bo, Sierra Leone. Environ Monit Assess 185, 241–251 (2013). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-012-2548-6

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