Author(s)

Léon W. Nitiema, Savadogo Boubacar, Zongo Dramane, Aminata Kabore, Poda Jean Noël, Alfred S. Traoré, Dayéri Dianou

National Center for Scientific and Technological Researches, Institute for Health Sciences Research, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.
Research Center for Biological, Alimentary and Nutritional Sciences, Research and Training Unit, Life and Earth Sciences, University of Ouagadougou, Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso.

Urban truck farming in developing countries appears of great importance to overcome unemployment and poverty. However, the quality of wastewater used for such activity could expose populations to waterborne diseases. The microbial quality of wastewaters used for truck farming in Ouagadougou city, was examined for the presence of bacterial and parasitological fecal indicators during the dry-hot season (May) and the wet season (July) in 2012. The wastewaters of three water reservoirs and two canals intensively used for truck farming were analyzed throughout the study. These indicators were also monitored in waste stabilization ponds during wastewater treatment in 3 plants of the city. For all the selected sampling sites, the concentrations of microbial indicators in water were significantly higher in the dry-hot season compared to the wet one (p < 0.0001) and ranged to 2200 - 53,800 CFU/100ml for Escherichia coli, 8200 - 108,400 CFU/100ml for fecal coliforms, 650 - 45,000 CFU/100ml) for fecal streptococcus, and 0 - 2.4 eggs/l for helminthes during the study periods. For wastewater under treatment in waste stabilization ponds, significant microbial concentration drops (p < 0.0001) in the range of 82% - 100%, 78% - 98%, 60% - 100% and 82% - 88%, respectively were recorded between the anaerobic and the maturation ponds. The later results highlighted that improving the refining performances of the waste stabilization ponds technology could help decreasing health risks related to wastewater reuse in urban agriculture for a sustainable development of cities in developing countries.

Truck Farming; Wastewater; Fecal Pollution; Health Risks; Ouagadougou; Burkina Faso

L. Nitiema, S. Boubacar, Z. Dramane, A. Kabore, P. Noël, A. Traoré and D. Dianou, "Microbial Quality of Wastewater Used in Urban Truck Farming and Health Risks Issues in Developing Countries: Case Study of Ouagadougou in Burkina Faso," Journal of Environmental Protection, Vol. 4 No. 6, 2013, pp. 575-584. doi: 10.4236/jep.2013.46067.