Feature: Tanzanian university in drive to free villagers from waterborne diseases

Over 10,000 villagers are at risk of being infected with waterborne diseases following the use of unsafe water from a small man-made dam located 45-km from Tanzania's tourist capital of Arusha.

Thanks to a pilot project aiming to treat water without chemicals undertaken by a Tanzanian university, the villagers are expected to be free from diseases due to unsanitary water sources.

Located in Alkata village, the Nadosoito dam is used by four villages in Sepeko ward of Monduli District, Arusha Region. Water from the dam is being shared by human beings and livestock, the situation that put people at risk of diarrhea, dysentery, salmonella, typhoid Fever, and cholera.

Popayo Mbuyo, a resident of Alkata village, says the dam that collects rainwater poses a threat to people living in the area.

"The water is dirty and its colour has changed into different things making it be unfit for human consumption, but residents in the area who are mostly pastoralists have been depending on the source for drinking and other domestic use," says Mbuyo.

Siltation, a result of erosion, is another challenge as it has been reducing the depth of the dam, to the extent that the water source is becoming a breeding site of micro-organisms that can cause waterborne disease.

Things become worse during the dry season between August and October, when the dam dries up. But, the villagers are forced to drink from it as they have no any other option.

The Arusha-based Nelson Mandela African Institute of Science and Technology (NM-AIST) is working on the pilot water project with financial support from the Tanzania Commission for Science and Technology (COSTECH).

"This pilot project is aimed at treating the water in the dam without using chemicals," says Kaloli Njau, associate professor at NM-AIST and head of School of Materials, Energy, Water and Environmental Sciences (MEWES).

Stanislaus Ntavangu, a 32-year-old student at NM-AIST pursuing master's degree of environmental science and engineering, came up with a new technology to treat water without using chemicals.

Njausays says he is very proud of the student for his hard work and innovation.

"The student developed a technology to treat water without using chemicals; after treating, the water becomes fit for human use," he says.

Another challenge is a breakdown of the important section of the dam that is used to release water once the dam is full, a situation that threatens the water treatment project.

Njau, who is also a principal coordinator of the pilot project, says Nadosioto is just an example of many dams built in northern Tanzania which had a similar challenge.

"So, the successful implementation of the project will help other people across the region and the country at large." Endit