Managing Water Quality in Intermittent Supply Systems: The Case of Mukono Town, Uganda

Abstract

Intermittent water supply networks risk microbial and chemical contamination through multiple mechanisms. In particular, in the cities of developing countries, where intrusion through leaky pipes are more prevalent and the sanitation systems coverage is low, contaminated water can be a public health hazard. Although countries using intermittent water supply systems aim to change to continuous water supply systems—for example, Kampala city is targeting to change to continuous water supply by 2025 through an expansion and rehabilitation of the pipe infrastructure—it is unlikely that this transition will happen soon because of rapid urbanisation and economic feasibility challenges. Therefore, water utilities need to find ways to supply safe drinking water using existing systems until gradually changing to a continuous supply system. This study describes solutions for improving water quality in Mukono town in Uganda through a combination of water quality monitoring (e.g., identifying potential intrusion hotspots into the pipeline using field measurements) and interventions (e.g., booster chlorination). In addition to measuring and analyses of multiple chemical and microbial water quality parameters, we used EPANET 2.0 to simulate the water quality dynamics in the transport pipeline to assess the impact of interventions.

Bacterial communities in a neotropical full-scale drinking water system including intermittent piped water supply, from sources to taps

“…In contrast, first flush samples averaged an HPC concentration of 4.3 × 10 4 MPN/100 mL (4.3 ± 2.8 × 10 4 MPN/100 mL) and were significantly higher than concentrations from stable IWS (Kruskal–Wallis, p < 0.001) which averaged 70 ± 109 MPN/100 mL and ranged from 5 to 300 MPN/100 mL. Other studies have also found a deterioration of water quality during first flush events when supply is restarted regardless of the duration of the stoppage; 15–17,64–66 although differences in water quality between first flush and stable supply may not be significant in all cases. 16…”

Logistic pipe failure prediction models for an urban water distribution network in the developing world: a case study of Kampala water, Uganda

“…This study was conducted in Kampala, the capital city of Uganda with a water supply service covering an area of about 300 km 2 with a total pipe length of approximately 3,587 km of various sizes ranging from DN50 to DN700 (Sakomoto et al 2020). The pipe network was laid in 1929.…”

Optimal Design-for-Control of Water Distribution Networks via Convex Relaxation

“…Pressure control allows network operators to minimize leakage [2] and reduce probability of pipe failures [3]. Furthermore, disinfectant residuals in WDNs are critical control variables to preserve water quality and eliminate the risks of pathogen contamination, with chlorine being a commonly used water disinfectant -see for example [4], [5]. Pressure control schemes are implemented by installing and operating pressure reducing valves (PRVs), which control pressure at their downstream node.…”