IAS conducts Water Quality Monitoring Training for Communities in Kadavu
01 October 2011
The Institute of Applied Sciences (IAS) under the Water and Nature Initiative project (WANI) is currently working with the district of Nakasaleka, Kadavu in improving the monitoring of their drinking water quality. The main purpose of the training exercises led by Dr Bale Tamata of IAS was to raise awareness about the link between unsustainable land-use practices from the surrounding upper catchment areas to their impact on the quality of drinking water for communities.
Higher form students of Kadavu Provinicial School within the Nakasaleka district were trained in the use of a simple Hydrogen sulphide (H2S) paper-strip test kit in July 2011. H2S kits are used to determine the levels of sulphide-reducing bacteria as an indicator for contaminated drinking water. They consist of a strip of special paper in a sealed tube which is filled with water to be tested. The water slowly develops a dark colour if contaminated; a darker colour indicates more contamination. H2S tests have relatively good correlation with results from faecal and total coliform analyses making it ideal for widespread use on remote islands in the Pacific Islands where water quality conventional monitoring is unable to be carried out.
Students were then tasked with monitoring the quality of water from three different water sources (Secondary school water tank, Primary school water tank and Primary school creek) over three days. Results from the tests which were presented to the school indicated the presence of sulphide-reducing bacteria in the three water sources.
In addition, women participants from across the Nakasaleka district undertook the same training on September 6th using H2S kits for testing water quality within their respective communities from rivers and springs used for drinking.
According to the Assistant Project Manager, IAS, Ms Leigh-Anne Buliruarua, the training has empowered members of the Nakasaleka district to make better decisions on their land-use practices after studying its effects on the quality of drinking water available to them.