Waste stabilisation pond system has been used more especially in developing countries for sewage treatment. The objective of this study was to investigate the hydraulic and performance efficiency of Palapye waste stabilisation ponds. The hydraulic efficiency was evaluated through drogue, pond geometry and sludge accumulation assessment. The performance efficiency was evaluated through periodic sampling and analysis of physiochemical and bacteriological parameters of individual units and of the system as a whole. Except for the maturation ponds, the depth of the anaerobic pond had reduced from 4 m to 0.45 m, for facultative ponds from 2.0 m to a range of 0.52 m-0.91 m. The design hydraulic retention time of the system had reduced from 20 days to 7.1 days. The concentration of some physiochemical parameters in the effluent was 305 mg•L −1 , 277 Nephelometric Turbidity Units (NTU), 204 mg•L −1 , 156 mg•L −1 , 110 mg•L −1 , and 15 mg•L −1 being total suspended solids, turbidity, nitrates, chemical oxygen demand, biochemical oxygen demand and phosphate respectively. These values were more than the standard limits of the country. Effluent total coliforms concentration was 3.6 log units and within the threshold of 4.3 log units, faecal coliforms concentration was 3.5 log units, slightly higher than the threshold of 3 log units. Though Escherichia coli have no limits for discharge into other environments, the concentration in the effluent was reasonable at 2.5 log units and also within irrigation limit of 3 log counts. Palapye wastewater treatment system hydraulic efficiency is lower than the design criterion. The system was overall poor in physiochemical parameters removal but better in bacteriological removal.

Water quality index has been used in various researches for the assessment of water quality for various uses and discharges into the environment. The purpose of this study was to determine the water quality index of the effluent from waste stabilisation ponds and 400 m beyond discharge point. This was achieved by evaluating concentrations of seven parameters from soil, eleven physiochemical parameters from effluent and four microbiological parameters. Corresponding water quality indices calculated from microbiological parameters were 854, 142, 96 and 1539 respectively, at sites 1, 2, 3 and 4. Reductions of magnesium, zinc, lead, sodium adsorption ratio, sodium and electrical conductivity in soil samples at site 4 were 15.5%, 57%, 81.6%, 93.5%, 93.5% and 99% respectively. The percentage increases were 21.4% and 185% respectively, for calcium and iron ions. It can be concluded that the water quality index of the waste stabilisation ponds is unsuitable for discharge into the environment. However, the results revealed improved quality downstream of discharge point.