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Fate of Heavy Metals in an Urban Natural Wetland: The Nyabugogo Swamp (Rwanda)

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Abstract

The Nyabugogo natural wetland (Kigali City, Rwanda) receives all kinds of untreated wastewaters, including those from industrial areas. This study monitored heavy metal concentrations (Cd, Cr, Cu, Pb, and Zn) in all environmental compartments of the swamp: water and sediment, the dominant plant species Cyperus papyrus, and fish (Clarias sp. and Oreochromis sp.) and Oligochaetes. Cr, Cu, and Zn concentrations in the water were generally below the WHO (2008) drinking water standards, whereas Cd and Pb were consistently above these limits. Except Cd, all metal concentrations were below the threshold levels for irrigation. The highest metal accumulation occurred in the sediment with up to 4.2 mg/kg for Cd, 68 mg/kg for Cu, 58.3 mg/kg for Pb, and 188.0 mg/kg for Zn, followed by accumulation in the roots of C. papyrus with up to 4.2 mg/kg for Cd, 45.8 mg/kg for Cr, 29.7 mg/kg for Cu, and 56.1 mg/kg for Pb. Except Cu and Zn, other heavy metal (Cd, Cr, and Pb) concentrations were high in Clarias sp., Oreochromis sp., and Oligochaetes. Therefore, there is a human health concern for people using water and products from the swamp.

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Acknowledgments

The authors are grateful to the Dutch Government and the National University of Rwanda for the financial support provided for this research through the NPT/RW/051 Project.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Chemistry, National University of Rwanda, P.O. Box 117, Butare, Rwanda

    Christian B. Sekomo & Egide Nkuranga

  2. Department of Environmental Resources, UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, P.O. Box 3015, 2601DA, Delft, The Netherlands

    Christian B. Sekomo, Egide Nkuranga, Diederik P. L. Rousseau & Piet N. L. Lens

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  1. Christian B. Sekomo
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  2. Egide Nkuranga
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  3. Diederik P. L. Rousseau
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Correspondence to Diederik P. L. Rousseau.

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Sekomo, C.B., Nkuranga, E., Rousseau, D.P.L. et al. Fate of Heavy Metals in an Urban Natural Wetland: The Nyabugogo Swamp (Rwanda). Water Air Soil Pollut 214, 321–333 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11270-010-0426-9

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