Uganda: Mbale Water Supply Contaminated

— The water supply in the city of Mbale is contaminated with human waste and suspended solids, making treatment difficult and expensive. Residents in the Manafwa River area dump human waste into the river, which then requires expensive disinfection, according to David Opoka, the National Water and Sewerage Corporation area manager. In addition, "there are extremely high silt volumes in the raw water, resulting in high chemical treatment costs and frequent overhaul of equipment and treatment units," Opoka says. "We are also experiencing problems of sand mining by local communities upstream and this increases turbulence at the intakes and endangers the riverbanks," he added...