Monitoring Water Quality and Sanitation Practices in Semi-Arid Rural Areas in Namibia

Abstract

Farming communities in the rural regions of Namibia, struggle to obtain clean water and are challenged to keep water safe for human consumption. Namibia has one of the lowest sanitation coverage in Eastern and Southern Africa, therefore the main focus of the study was to analyze and improve water quality and sanitation by testing the groundwater quality and providing recommendations to improve sanitation. This was done through interviews, infrastructural observations and water quality tests on eight farms settlements in the Karas region. Groundwater was tested for nitrate, Enterococcus, total coliform and Escherichia coli (E. coli.) Water results were compared to the guidelines for safe drinking water used by Nam Water and WHO. One farm was graded as having water unfit for human consumption (Grade D), three of them had water that has a moderate risk factor (Grade C) to human health, which requires rectification, while four of the farms had very safe water (Grade A).