Assessment of water sources and quality for livestock and farmers in the Rift Valley area of Ethiopia

Adequate access to good quality drinking water is an important prerequisite for the wellbeing and survival of people. Increasing competition over scarce freshwater resources with continuous quality deterioration is becoming a serious problem in many developing countries like Ethiopia, where the technical, socioeconomic and political conditions are impeding the proper utilization of the required resource. The concern of low quality water is either due to direct health impacts of poor quality drinking water or a reduction in the palatability of water for humans or animal consumption. The use of contaminated water in food production and/or processing can also be a considerable health concern for people. In rural households, water is used for multiple purposes including income generating activities such as livestock farming. Generally, the interactions among livestock, water and rural communities are very complex. Studies addressing the extent of water scarcity and quality problems in Ethiopia in such contexts are still limited. Therefore, a comprehensive assessment of water utilization by farmers and their livestock with respect to potential health and food safety impacts was carried out in two districts of Ethiopia. The specific objectives of the present study were to: (1) assess the constraints and challenges in meeting the water requirements of livestock kept by typical rural communities, (2) assess the utilization of water sources by livestock and people, (3) assess the suitability of water sources for human and livestock consumption based on microbiological and chemical quality indicators, (4) examine the microbiological quality of water at household levels and the potential health impacts, and (5) investigate the potential impacts of poor water quality on the microbiological safety of milk and milk products. [.]