Abstract:
River Ndarugu is a tributary of Athi River in Kenya and is one of the main sources of
fresh water for domestic use to the villages along the river bank and Nairobi City. It
traverses Juja Township in Kiambu County, Central Kenya. During its course through
the different agricultural and industrial areas of Gatundu, Gachororo and Juja farms,
it receives untreated agro‐industrial waste discharges, effluent from coffee and tea
factories, and other agricultural activities in the catchment area. This paper aims at
assessing the level of pollution due to these activities. Water samples were
collected from seven sampling points during the dry season in July and short wet
season in November and December and analysed in situ and at Jomo Kenyatta
University Environmental laboratory for eight parameters. These include pH,
temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), Turbidity, Nitrogen, Phosphorous,
Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5) and dissolved oxygen (DO).The samples were
collected at 15cm depth (to avoid floating materials) and geographical positioning
system (GPS) device was used to spatially locate the sampling sites. Samples were
taken from upstream and downstream of point and non‐ point sources of pollution.
Results indicated that most physical parameters were within the WHO limits for
drinking purpose. BOD5and EC levels increased from 12mg/l to 22mg/l and55μS/cm
to 85μS/cm respectively but DO level decreased from 6.3mg/l to 3.4mg/l moving
downstream in dry season. Turbidity was above the allowable limit in both seasons
Nutrient levels were within the limits and no phosphorus was detected. There is
need for proper control of wastewater by various techniques, and preliminary
treatment of waste discharges prior to effluent disposal. Care should be taken in
application of inorganic fertilizers. Management of the watershed is also necessary
so as to protect the river from the adverse impacts of agricultural activities and save
it from further deterioration.
