Theses and Dissertations

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Browsing Theses and Dissertations by Subject "363.610968257"

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    Assessment of potential health risks of domestic water sources in Matatani Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa
    (2025-09-05) Ndou, Pfunzo; Makungo, R.; Malima, T. P.
    Poor water quality is associated with adverse health outcomes worldwide. In many developing countries, access to clean and safe water remains limited, forcing individuals to depend on available water sources despite their poor quality. This study evaluated the potential human health risks associated with domestic water sources at Matatani Village, Limpopo Province, South Africa. Field observations were conducted to identify the available water sources and the potential contaminants present for each source. Water samples were collected during both wet and dry seasons from the primary sources used by the residents, including boreholes, springs, and a river. Rainwater samples from various roof types were also collected during the rainfall season. The physical parameters including pH, electrical conductivity (EC), and total dissolved solids (TDS) were measured using standardized multi-meter. Turbidity was measured using turbidity meter. Microbiological parameters such as total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E.coli) were analyzed using membrane filtration method. Metals such as sodium (Na), magnesium (Mg), potassium (K), iron (Fe), lead (Pb), manganese (Mn), cadmium (Cd), arsenic (As), aluminium (Al), copper (Cu) and zinc (Zn) were analyzed using inductively coupled plasma optical emission spectrophotometer (ICP-OES) . The non-metals such as chloride (Cl), fluoride (F), phosphate (PO4) and sulphate (SO4) were analyzed using the DR 3900 Laboratory spectrophotometer. Health risk assessment was conducted for non-carcinogenic and carcinogenic risk through ingestion based on the United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) method. The pH for groundwater and river water was within the recommended guideline. The turbidity and TDS were above the guidelines for river and groundwater. For rainwater water, the EC and TDS were within the recommended guidelines while the turbidity was above the recommended guideline. The total coliform and E.coli were both above the recommended guidelines for the majority of the samples. Metals such as As, Mn, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, Al, and Fe were above the recommended guidelines for surface and groundwater and rainwater, respectively. They metals ranged from 0.60 to 6.88, 1.54 to 6.51, 0 to 16.61, 1.63 to 7.63, 1.54 to 10.59, 4.22 to 5.74, 0.36 to 7.86 for As, Mn, Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, Al, and Fe, for all sources respectively. The presence of these metals in water sources can cause adverse effects on human health. Non-metals such as from 0.1 to 5.7 and 0 to 89 for F and SO4, they were within the recommended guidelines for groundwater, river water, and rainwater. The non-carcinogenic hazard index (HI) ranged from 4.20 to 18.3 for river and groundwater while it ranged from 0.52 to 3.11 for rainwater for both adults and children, respectively. The HI for river and groundwater was greater than 1 for children and adults indicating significant health risk. The HI for children only exceeded 1 for rainwater meaning that the children are at risk. The carcinogenic risk for Pb, Cd and As ranged between 0.09 to 4.26 and 0.09 to 0.96 for groundwater, river water, and rainwater for adults and children, respectively. Identified microbial health risks include nausea, vomiting, abdominal cramps, cholera and typhoid fever. These findings highlighted the severe risk of diseases for the residents of Matatani Village. They also confirmed that water in Matatani Village is unsafe for human use. It is recommended that residents have to use the sources of water such as municipal water which consistently show lower contamination levels and boil water before use to minimize contamination risk. Residents have to minimize pollution by implementing stricter regulations to reduce the discharge of various elements into the environment.
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    ItemOpen Access
    An evaluation of urban household water demand and consumption in Vhembe District: a case study of Makhado Local Municipality, Limpopo, South Africa
    (2016-05) Ramulongo, Luvhimba; Nethengwe, N. S.; Musyoki, A.
    See the attached abstract below
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    Towards efficient water utilisation in South African Higher Education Institutions: A case study of University of Venda
    (2019-05-18) Nkuna, Zanele; Odiyo, J. O.; Mathivha, F. I.
    Water scarcity has become a constraint for sustainable development in the higher education institutions in South Africa including University of Venda. Water infrastructure is one of the major challenges within higher education institutions, the existing water supply infrastructure is over 20 years old and was not planned for the current population. This study aimed at developing a water management plan for higher education institutions in South Africa using the University of Venda as a case study. A water resource management plan provides a road map for reducing water consumption while encouraging sustainable water utilisation. Evaluation was done within the institution to identify water sources, water resources infrastructure and water utilisation. The study employed questionnaire survey to collect data on water consumption, to evaluate issues of the institutional participation in resolving the water problems within the institution and deduce water wastage. Water supply data was obtained from meter readings and water invoices obtained from Vhembe District Municipality and University of Venda. The latter were used to determine water consumption within the institution. Based on the sample size, the results indicated the estimated amount of water consumed daily by UNIVEN population is 66 341.9 l/d excluding water utilised at the cafeteria, car wash and auditorium. The average water supplied to UNIVEN in 2017 was 67 642. 25 mega litres/month, this indicates that more water is supplied to the institution since the estimated institutional water demand excluding illegal students in the residence halls ranged between 415 740 l/d and 597 620 l/d of water while the estimated institutional water demand including illegal students varied between 282 2610 l/d and 406 6580 l/d. The latter further indicates that there is water wastage within the institution because the water supplied monthly to the institution was in mega litres as indicated in the invoices, but the results indicated that the amount of water utilised daily within the institution was in litres, this clearly shows that the respondents under estimated the amount of water they utilise. The average amount of water used by students residing on campus was 271 l/p/d to 735.5 l/p/d while day scholars and university staff use 55 l/p/d to 142.5 l/p/d. The average amount of water used for cleaning ranged between 1 318.5 l/d to 3 909 l/d while gardening usage ranged between 4600 l/d and 8 600 l/d. The School of Agriculture experimental farm uses 9 270.4 l/d and the university laundry was found to utilise 5 186 l/d. The university laboratories were found to utilise 125 l/d to 215 l/d per practical session with 3 to 4 practical sessions conducted per week. The study found that the total water used by construction workers for domestic purposes iv is 800 l/d. The utilisation trends showed that during the dry seasons, the university population generally used about twice as much water as compared to wet season because municipal water was supplemented by rain water for watering plants and washing the pavement. The survey results indicated that students residing in the university residences waste more water by allowing the tap to run while brushing teeth, washing dishes, excessive use of water to rinse clothes while doing laundry, opening showers and leaving the water running while waiting for a desired water temperature. Activities such as watering flowers and lawn in an unmonitored manner and pavement washing in which the hose pipe runs for several hours during watering and pavement washing result in water wastage. The university does not have an environmental or water education projects that encourage students and staff to use water efficiently. Water conservation measures are lacking in the institution because there are no policies and procedures that outline how water should be utilised. The developed water management plan for University of Venda outline the current water consumption, targets for reduction, drivers for reducing water consumption and water reduction strategies. This study recommends that the University targets to reduce potable water usage by 12% in the next 5 years. The latter has been highlighted in the proposed water management plan. The proposed plan further presents a suite of strategies to reduce water usage, improve institution water resources data and to plan for the future. Water utilisation within the institution has not been efficient due to water not being utilised in a sustainable manner. Sub-metering of each building, water awareness campaign, introduction of water utilisation policies, routine inspection and maintenance of infrastructure and appointing an environmental coordinator or working with water experts in the School of Environmental Sciences will help reduce water consumption within the institution.