EFFECTS OF LIQUID WASTE MANAGEMENT APPROACHES ON WATER QUALITYIN SEKENANI, MAASAI MARA GAME RESERVE, NAROK IN KENYA

Abstract

The Maasai Mara Game Reserve is experiencing expansion in tourist facilities to accommodate increasing traffic. A major impact of this being wastewater released to the fragile environment. The objective of this study wasto examine effects of wastewater management methods on quality of wastewater in 4 purposively selected tourist facilities located in Sekenani by assessing seasonal quality of effluent discharged. Samples were collected randomly from the effluent during wet and dry seasons and analyzed for: pH, Temperature, Chemical Oxygen Demand, Biochemical Oxygen Demand, Phosphates, Nitrates, Electrical Conductivity, Dissolved Oxygen, Turbidity, Total Suspended Solids and Coliforms. Data were analyzed using SPSS and tested using ANOVA at 0.05 confidence level. Water quality index of the effluent was used to examine the efficiency of the treatment approaches. Quality of wastewater was generally poor. Dissolved Oxygen (p=0.006; p=0.001); TSS (p=0.005; p=0.001), and phosphates (p=0.006; p=0.001) showed variation between seasons. Single septic tank (26) and septic tank and soak away treatment (27) approaches produced water with the lowest quality based on Water Quality Index. This threatens the health of the communities down stream as it may cause water borne diseases such as cholera and disruption of food chains. To mitigate against discharge of poor quality wastewater to the environment, we recommend adoption of sustainable wastewater management technologies e.g. constructed wetlands and robust enforcement of national environmental regulations. Further studies should include monitoring changes in macroinvertebrate species diversity and abundance along the recipient streams to provide a more holistic and integrated assessment of the ecological impact of the wastewater on the receiving lotic environments.