Quality of drinking water used by communities in selected villages from Iringa rural, Kongwa and Mufindi districts, Tanzania

Drinking water quality was assessed in selected villages from Kongwa, Mufindi and Iringa rural districts between March and August 2020. Ten villages from three districts were involved in the study: Kongwa (4 villages), Iringa rural (3 villages), and Mufindi (3 villages). Methods used in data gathering were observation, in-situ, and ex-situ measurement of water parameters. A total of 150 samples were collected from different water sources (a bore hole, a well, a spring, and a river) and analyzed using standard methods. Results show that the minimum and maximum values of dissolved oxygen (DO), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD, pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), turbidity, calcium, magnesium, fluoride, nitrate, and hardness were 3.35-9.62, 0.52-1.93, 4.40-8.28, 13.0-2000 mg/L, 0.47–31.6 NTU, 0.41-1.32 mg/L, 0.25-1.35 mg/L, 0.02-1.02 mg/L, 1.30-167 mg/L, and 0.68-216 mg/L, respectively. TDS (2000 mg/L) and nitrate (167 mg/L) were significantly higher than WHO guideline values in some villages from different sources. Further results indicated that 3 out of 17 sampling sites had Escherichia coli, indicating fecal contamination. Higher levels of physical-chemical parameters and microbial contamination observed are of health concern and call for mitigation measures. The study recommends regular water testing, monitoring its quality, treating source points, and providing education to communities surrounding the water sources.