Industrial and municipal effluents management in the riparian region of the Ugandan portion of Lake Victoria

The Industrial and Municipal Waste Management component of the Lake Victoria Environmental Management project carried out an assessment to determine pollutant loads from point sources, which included industrial and municipal effluents and urban run-off from the Uganda catchment of Lake Victoria. Identification of pollution hotspots that pose threats to Lake Victoria was done, and the fishing villages were found to have significant impacts because of their high number, high population density and proximity to the lake. Similarly, factories in Kampala, Jinja and Entebbe with potential threat were identified. The results show that each day 14.17 tons of BOD, 2.91tons of Nitrogen and 2.21 tons of phosphorus are discharged into the lake from urban centres, while 2.96 tons of BOD, 0.37 tons of nitrogen and 0.19 tons of phosphorus are discharged daily from 124 fishing villages with a total population of 92,000. Industrial loads reaching the lake were estimated to be 2.52 ton of BOD, 0.34 tons nitrogen and 0.11 tons phosphorus per day. These values show that the major threat comes from urban centres, which are responsible for nearly 70% of BOD and 80% of the nutrient loading into Lake Victoria. Kampala city accounts for about 60% of the discharging population and 65% of the total BOD load. Studies on the use of natural and constructed wetlands showed that they can play a significant role in further reduction of pollutants from municipal and industrial effluents. Pollution management strategies proposed for urban centres focus on improved garbage collection and sanitation, particularly in the Nakivubo catchment of Kampala and more proactive protection of wetlands. Sanitation improvements advocated include improved operation and maintenance of the existing municipal wastewater treatment works, strengthening of process engineering expertise, use of wetlands to polish effluents and greater on-site sanitation coverage. Similarly, sanitation recommendations apply for fishing villages but here the strategy is to focus on improving the ability of fishing village communities to help themselves through awareness raising programs and how to lobby for local development funding. The strategy for industries is adoption of Cleaner Production and use of the Pollution Control Manual for training and guidance, strengthening of process design capacity, a staged approach to treatment plant development and strengthening of discharge agreements.