Health Risks and Potential Sources of Contamination of Groundwater Used by Public Schools in Vhuronga 1, Limpopo Province, South Africa

John Ogony Odiyo, Mashudu Maxwell Mathoni and Rachel Makungo
Additional contact information
John Ogony Odiyo: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
Mashudu Maxwell Mathoni: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa
Rachel Makungo: Department of Hydrology and Water Resources, University of Venda, Thohoyandou 0950, South Africa

IJERPH, 2020, vol. 17, issue 18, 1-15

Abstract: Public schools in most rural areas of South Africa depend on untreated groundwater due to unreliable water supply by the municipalities. This has the potential to cause water-related health problems to school children. Temperature, pH, and electrical conductivity (EC) were measured in situ. Chemical (fluoride, chloride, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate, magnesium, calcium, sodium, and potassium) and microbial ( Escherichia coliform (E. coli) , Salmonella typhimurium , and Shigella flexneri) water quality parameters were analysed in groundwater samples from 10 public schools in Vhuronga 1 to determine suitability for use. Quantitative microbial risk assessment was carried out to determine risks of infection and illness due to consumption of groundwater. Correlation analysis was used to identify potential sources of contamination. All physical and most chemical water quality parameters were within guidelines for domestic water use. A high proportion of schools had high levels of microbial organisms. Risks of infection per day were relatively low for all schools. The annual risks of infection due to E. coli and Shigella flexneri for most schools was high, with maximum values of 89.11 and 83.75%, respectively. Maximum risks of illness per year were 31.19, 30.37, and 29.31% for E. coli , Salmonella typhimurium , and Shigella flexneri , respectively. Correlation analysis indicated potential contamination of groundwater by agricultural activities, domestic waste, and faecal contamination from pit latrines. Preventive and mitigation measures to minimise such risks, including locating boreholes at safe distances from pit latrines, prevention/minimisation of pollution of groundwater from agricultural activities, and point-of-use treatment of groundwater by the schools are therefore essential.

Keywords: agricultural activities; contamination; groundwater quality; health risks; pit latrines; school children (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: I I1 I3 Q Q5 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2020
References: View references in EconPapers View complete reference list from CitEc
Citations:

Downloads: (external link)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6912/pdf (application/pdf)
https://www.mdpi.com/1660-4601/17/18/6912/ (text/html)

Related works:
This item may be available elsewhere in EconPapers: Search for items with the same title.

Export reference: BibTeX RIS (EndNote, ProCite, RefMan) HTML/Text

Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jijerp:v:17:y:2020:i:18:p:6912-:d:417025

Access Statistics for this article

IJERPH is currently edited by Ms. Jenna Liu

More articles in IJERPH from MDPI
Bibliographic data for series maintained by MDPI Indexing Manager ().