Water sources ‘contaminated’

MUSANZE - A group of students of environment health from Kigali Health Institute (KHI) have called for proper waste management within Musanze in order to end contamination of water sources in the district.

Thursday, August 13, 2009
A woman fetches water in one of the water sources in Ruhengeri.(Photo B Mukombozi).

MUSANZE - A group of students of environment health from Kigali Health Institute (KHI) have called for proper waste management within Musanze in order to end contamination of water sources in the district.

The 15 third-year students who have been on a two-month internship in Musanze District say that a number of  waste sources  from industries and sewage mix up with water which is used by residents for domestic consumption.

Waste products from Pyrethrum processing industry-SOPYRWA, was said to be linked to the contamination of water sources.

During their field training, the students assessed water quality for domestic use while identifying the possible sources of water pollution in the area.

They  visited hotels, restaurants and bars and other utilities a spart of their studies.

They observed that some eateries lack the required minimum sanitation standards.

"People within the rural community get diseases related to unhygienic conditions, and malnutrition.

But other diseases are a result of different forms of pollution which are largely preventable,’’ Modeste Nyandwi, one of the students said.

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