Water pollution sources, effects and strategies for prevention in Gampaha district

Abstract

Water pollution has become a critical issue with rising population by urbanization and development activities especially in the urban areas of Sri Lanka. Due to industrial effluents, dumping of solid waste, open excretion, seepage of chemicals and pollutants, water in Gampaha district got polluted and cause life- threatening diseases. In order to improve the health status of the people in these areas, there is a vital need to study the sources, effects and to propose strategies for prevention of water pollution in Gampaha District. Proportionate sampling was done from five Divisional Secretariats in Gampaha district and total of 100 households were studied. Descriptive statistics, Multiple linear regression and Chi-square analysis were used to analyse the data. The study revealed that all the households had knowledge on water pollution and related impacts. About 47% of households faced problems on contamination of water in Gampaha District and majority of them thought that the pollution may be due to industrial and agricultural activities. Inevitably, almost all households were affected by water related diseases and 93% households were mainly affected by Amoebiasis due to the water pollution. On average, each household spent Rs.1172.70 per year for treating water related diseases. Majority (96%) of households were using water supply for their daily use due to the lack of space to construct well within the premises. About 88% of households disposed their wastes in open places. Majority of the households were boiled the water and used water filters to purify their well water before use. The average cost for purification methods was Rs. 3531.31 per month and the average cost for alternative water source was Rs. 1078.60 per month. Multiple linear regression analysis results showed that type of water used for drinking purpose significantly influenced the cost for alternative water sources (p<0.01). And major problems with getting good quality water significantly influenced the cost for alternative water source (p<0.05). An increase in total income per month by one rupee will decrease the cost for alternative water sources per month by 3 Cents (p<0.05). It is recommended that the public and private health sectors must take initiatives to educate the people and the government must take immediate measure to carry out water testing to analyse the quality of water in wells in Gampaha district. And there should be an initiative to have a small scale purification device to reduce the risks of pollution.