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The water quality degradation of upper Awash River, Ethiopia

Article  in  Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management · January 2013

DOI: 10.4314/ejesm.v6i1.7

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 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 6 No.1 2013

THE WATER QUALITY DEGRADATION OF UPPER AWASH RIVER, ETHIOPIA

*Fasil Degefu, Aschalew Lakew, Yared Tigabu and Kibru Teshome
http://dx.doi.org/10.4314/ejesm.v6i1.7

Received 6th November 2012; accepted 11th January 2013

Abstract
Benthic macroinvertebrate based assessment of water quality in the upper Awash River, along the river
course of about 500 kms was conducted on quarterly bases between September 2009 and August 2010.
This paper reports the complete identification of macroinvertebrates together with measurements of
physico-chemical parameters and heavy metal concentrations which were considered as a tool for
assessing the water quality status of upper Awash river, Ethiopia. Benthic animals and water samples
were collected from three different sampling sites located in the upper Awash River, and analyzed to
evaluate stressor sources and the general stream water quality. The percentage abundance of families of
various macroinvertebrates taxonomic groups was identified from all sites. Accordingly, Koka bridge site
of the upper Awash River had low water quality status which is likely to be due to poor farming,
untreated effluents from factories and poor provision of sanitation facilities to the riparian communities.
Apparently, the concentrations of the selected nutrients and heavy metals did not differ significantly
among the sampling sites (ANOVA, P > 0.05), presumably due to pollution of the whole stream reach by
the catchment nutrient sources. Ten orders of benthic macroinvertebrates consisting of 36 families were
identified. The highest family richness was observed in Ginchi, slightly impacted site (1) whilst the least
faunal diversity was observed in Koka Bridge (7 families) indicating the effect of water quality class
differences among the sampling sites.
Key words: Macroinvertebrates, organic pollution, heavy metals, water quality, anthropogenic impact,
upper Awash River

Introduction water quality and the overall health of flowing

Water is critical for sustainable livelihoods water systems. They are affected by changes in a
and is impossible for a single life to live without it. stream’s chemical and/or physical structure (Karr
Water never exists alone, but it is a part and parcel and Kerans, 1991). Species of aquatic
of ecological unit consisting of land, substrate macroinvertebrates living in the aquatic
structures, flora and fauna. Streams and rivers are environment are sensitive in varying degrees to
major sources of water to satisfy human needs temperatures, dissolved oxygen, sedimentation and
such as domestic uses, agriculture, transport, scouring; nutrient enrichment, chemical and
industries, power production and recreation. organic pollution (Resh and Jackson, 1993). This
Combinations of various natural factors and sensitivity allows them to be effective indicators
anthropogenic activities in the rivers and their of specific anthropogenic disturbances and climate
catchments are, however, affecting the river water changes (House et al., 1993). Therefore, the
qualities and their biodiversity. In Ethiopia, human purpose of this study was to determine the water
activities such as land use and modification, quality status of the upper Awash River using
urbanization, human settlement and other practices biological indicators and some selected key water
associated with rapid population growth are the quality parameters.
major water quality degrading factors (Zinabu and
Elias, 1989). Methodology
Evaluating the status of water quality and Study Area
climate change by examining fauna has been well This study was conducted in upper Awash
established in both theory and practice for several River (upstream to Koka reservoir), a total course
decades (Davis, 1995). In this regard, benthic of 500 km. Awash River basin is the most
macroinvertebrates (BMI) are useful in evaluating important river basin in the country. It covers a

EIAR-National Fisheries and Aquaculture Research Center, 58

P.O.Box 64, Sebeta, Ethiopia
*Corresponding author email:[email protected]
 The Water Quality Degradation of Upper Awash River, Ethiopia....................Fasil Degefu et al.

catchment area of 110,000 km2 and serves as home (365 - 502 FTU) in both dry and wet seasons.
to 10.5 million inhabitants. The river originates There are many factories like Shoa and Ethio-
from a high plateau near Ginchi town, about 80 tanneries, Mojo oil mill factory which discharge
km to the west of Addis Ababa and flows along their raw effluent directly into the river.
the rift valley into the Afar triangle and ends in Furthermore abattoir houses and poultry farms
saline Lake Abbe. Irrigation, electric power were observed in the sub-catchment of the river in
generation, fish production, serving as water this sampling station. The benthic-
source for domestic consumption to the inhabitants macroinvertebrate community diversity is very
dowelling near by the river course as well as for poor and usually dominated by chironomids.
domestic and wild animals of the area are some of Sampling
the most important services provided by the Sampling of water, benthic animals and
Awash River water. Samples were collected from physico-chemical parameters were conducted on
three different sites where different levels of quarterly bases between September 2009 and
anthropogenic impacts are observed: forest areas August 2010 from all the sampling stations to
with less human impact, scattered silviculture with cover both dry and wet periods. In this study, we
agricultural activities and deforested, irrigated and are restricted to indices focused on the
highly impacted areas. determination of water quality.
Description of Sample Sites Physico-chemical parameters
The sampling sites were characterized as Dissolved oxygen (DO), specific conductivity,
reference or impaired based on physical, chemical, pH, water and air temperature were measured in-
biological and land-use information. The first situ using a multi-probe (Model HQ40d, HACH
sampling station (S1) was located about 80 km Instruments). Water samples were collected in 500
west of Addis Ababa, near Ginchi town. In this ml polyethylene bottles and were transported to
sampling station, there are natural vegetation’s in laboratory for inorganic nutrient analysis at Addis
the bank of the river. Anthropogenic activities Ababa Environmental Protection Authority
such as farming and grazing, washing clothes and (AEPA). Analyses were done by following the
bathing were common during our sampling standard methods (APHA, 1995). Selected heavy
periods. Little turbidity (187 FTU) was observed metals: Fe, Cb, Pb, Cd and Zn, which are present
during the dry season while it increased in industrial effluents released to the rivers
considerably following the onset of the rainy catchments, were analyzed following the standard
season. Neither odor nor foam was detected from methods (APHA, 1995) using Shimadzu AA 6200
this sampling site. The benthic-macroinvertebrate atomic absorption spectrophotometer.
community is relatively diverse and dominated by Macroinvertebrates
pollution sensitive taxa like EPT. Hence, it was Benthic macro invertebrates were sampled
considered as slightly impacted site for this study. from the river using AQEM net sampler (frame
The second sampling station (S2) was located shape rectangular, area 625cm2, net mesh size
about 50 km south-west of Addis Ababa, near 500µm from multi-habitat units) following
Awash Bello town. There is no natural vegetation standard methods developed for Rapid
except the scattered eucalyptus trees which are Bioassessment Protocol (Barbour et al., 1996).
planted at the river bank. In this sampling station, The coverage of biotic habitat (macro-algae,
agricultural activities are intense including river macrophytes, CPOM, woody materials and sandy
water abstraction for irrigation using motor substrate) is allocated by distributing them to the
pumps. The river water is quite turbid (319 - 472 mineral habitat of the sampling reach. For each
FTU) in both dry and wet seasons. The benthic- sampling unit, stationary sampling was
macroinvertebrate community is dominated by accomplished by positioning the net upright on the
pollution tolerant organisms such as chironomids stream bed and disturbing the upstream with hand.
and oligochaetes. This sampling station was At S2 and S3, where the water is deep Ekman grab
considered to be moderately impaired. The third (area=250 cm2) was used for sampling.
sampling station (S3) was located at 100 km Samples collected from each microhabitat
south-east of Addis Ababa, above the bridge of were mixed together in the container and fixed
Awash River near Koka town. Water is turbid with 4% formalin (final concentration) to prevent

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 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 6 No.1 2013

carnivore macroinvertebrates from eating other (ANOVA, P < 0.05), ranged between 4.67 and
specimen and to harden the specimens and keep 7.84 mgl-1 for all sampling stations. An increasing
them intact during transportation and storage trend in conductivity was observed along the river
required until analysis. course during the sampling periods. Low value for
Benthic Samples conductivity (327.67 µS cm-1) was observed in S1
Before sorting, the complete samples were (Ginchi) and the highest value (492.87 µS cm-1)
passed through sets of sieves mounted under tap was in S3 (Koka bridge). pH values for all the
water in order to wash away the formalin, rinse the sites were more stable with range between 8.15
fine materials from the sample and separate size and 8.63. During the sampling periods, the
classes of macroinvertebrate groups. concentrations of inorganic nutrient increased
Macroinvertebrate trapped in the coarse fraction of from head water (slightly impacted site) to
the sieve were sorted completely in the laboratory escalating perturbation, S3 (Table 2).
by naked eyes. Organisms trapped in the smaller Heavy Metals
fraction of the sieve were sorted with help of light The concentration of heavy metals in the
microscope and naked eyes. After sorting, animals sampling stations of upper Awash River is
were identified to the family level and preserved in presented in Table 3. From the results, it was
70% alcohol for further taxonomic purpose. The found that Fe, Cb, Pb, Cd and Zn are present in
identification was made using different Awash River water. There were significant
identification keys includes those of McDonald et variations (ANOVA, P < 0.05) in heavy metal
al. (1991) and Pescador et.al (1995). concentration over the sampling stations.
Data Analyses Generally, an increasing temporal trend was
For sampling site comparisons, all the data observed for most of the heavy metals across the
collected were subjected to statistical analysis sampling stations excluding Cb and Pb, which
suitable for the multimetric approach. were lower across the increasing perturbation
Subsequently, the ecological quality of the water (Table 3).
body was expressed as a number using richness Macroinvertebrate Composition and Abundance
(number of EPT taxa, overall taxa) and A total of 36 individuals composed of 10
composition measures and tested with analysis of orders of macroinvertebrate community were
covariance for significant differences of the water collected during the sampling periods (Table 4).
quality status among the sampling sites. For all The highest family richness was observed in
statistical tests, a probability of P<0.05 was Ginchi (50% of the total community), slightly
considered significant. impacted site (S1) whilst the least faunal diversity
was observed in severely impacted site (S3), Koka
Results Bridge (19% of the total taxa) indicating quality
The different stream sections were class differences among the sites.
preclassified using expected values for dissolved
oxygen and conductivity (Table 1). Accordingly Discussion
sampling site 1 falls under quality class II (with Temperature and pH
7.84mgl-1 DO and 327.67 µS cm-1 conductivity) Water temperature is one of the controlling
whereas stream sections 2 and 3 falls under quality factors for the dynamics of aquatic environments;
class III with DO and conductivity given in Table because it interferes in the organism’s metabolism,
2. influencing the reproduction, accelerating the
Physical and Chemical Parameters reactions’ speed and increasing the degradation
The values of temperature, pH, dissolved rate of organic matter (Bottrell et al., 1976). The
oxygen (DO), Conductivity, total nitrogen (TN), water temperature during the sampling period
total phosphorus (TP), ortho phosphate (SRP), across the sampling sites was not significantly
nitrate-nitrogen (N-NO3-), total-ammonia (TA) and different (ANOVA, p > 0.05). As depicted in
some heavy metals are given in Tables 2 and 3. Table I, water temperature at S1 was lower
Temperature in the head water was relatively (average = 23.53 oC) than at S3 (average = 25.65
lower (23.53 oC) than middle and lower reaches o
C). This might be attributed to the fact that S1 is
(25.65 oC). DO variation was significant located relatively in the head water (Ginchi) which

60
 The Water Quality Degradation of Upper Awash River, Ethiopia....................Fasil Degefu et al.
have more shade and located at a high altitude. the river basin and indiscriminate disposal of
Likewise, pH variation was not significant domestic and municipal wastes are the main
(ANOVA, p > 0.05) between head water (S1) and sources of water pollution in Ethiopia. Heavy
the impacted site (S3). Therefore, water metals, from natural and anthropogenic sources,
temperature and pH may not be a key parameter in released into the environment find their way into
defining the water quality class among the the aquatic phase, and once in the water they will
sampling sites during our sampling periods. be taken up by aquatic organisms (Tarrio et al.,
However, temperature and pH are important 1991). Heavy metals are a serious threat to both
parameters that can influence chemical and aquatic organisms and also to humans who are
biological processes in the stream water consuming these organisms; because of their
(Rosenberg and Resh, 1993). toxicity, long persistence, bioaccumulation, and
Dissolved Oxygen and Conductivity biomagnifications in the food chain (Eisler, 1988).
Dissolved oxygen is essential to all forms of In the present study, it was found that Fe, Cb, Pb,
aquatic life. Its solubility and concentration varies Cd and Zn are present in Awash River water. The
with temperature and turbulence; the average total concentration of Fe and Zn at S3 was
photosynthetic activity of algae and aquatic plants; ten-fold (Table 3) higher than that of S1, while Cd
bacterial decomposition and respiration processes concentration was twofold higher than in
(Wetzel, 2001). The solubility of oxygen decreases S1.However, it is lower than the recommended
as temperature increases. In this study, however, safety thresholds for drinking water (WHO,
variation in dissolved oxygen concentrations were 2008).Therefore, the heavy metal content in
probably attributed to biological activities as downstream of Awash water was not significantly
temperature was relatively about the same. The higher than the natural elemental level in
low oxygen concentration (4.67mgl-1) at S3 (Koka freshwater (Lokeshwari et al., 2006). Nonetheless,
bridge) was recorded mainly due to high organic this study demonstrated potential risks to aquatic
load (Table II) which subsequently consume ecosystems attributed to industries effluent
oxygen for decomposition by bacteria (Hall et al., downstream of upper Awash River, including
1992). Therefore, dissolved oxygen could reduced DO concentrations, elevated inorganic
probably be the key parameter for the water nutrient and heavy metal contents.
quality class differences among the sampling sites. Major sources of wastewater effluents
Conductivity can be influenced largely by geology downstream of awash river include: Shoa and
of the catchments as the later highly influences Ethio- tanneries which discharge their raw effluent
mineral salts (Talling and Lemoalle, 1998). In this (very close to the third sampling station) directly
study, fluctuation of conductivity between the into the Mojo river a tributary of upper Awash;
head water (slightly impacted site) and severely Mojo oil mill factory which drain its effluent to
impacted site (Koka Bridge) was significant Mojo River; abattoir houses and poultry farms,
(ANOVA, P < 0.05). Conductivity increased along which operate in the catchments of the river and
the river course (downstream) coupled with release their effluents through Mojo River.
increasing perturbation. S3 is located downstream Principally, Akaki River (great and little Akaki) is
of different factories which are known to one of the main tributary of Awash River which
discharge wastes containing ions using the river as drains from its source to Koka reservoir. The
main waste dumping site. Hence, conductivity Akaki Rivers named as great and little flow within
could probably be excellent discerning parameter the Addis Ababa city both commencing from the
for water quality class in the upper Awash River. north mountainous escarpments and flowing
Heavy Metals in Water towards the south and ending at Awash River
The occurrence of heavy metals in excess of which final converge to Koka reservoir. Pollution
natural loads has attracted a great deal of interest of the rivers becomes most apparent as it flows
(FAO, 1992; Mansour and Sidky, 2002). The rapid through the city and slum areas and finally
growth of population and subsequent urbanization, alarmingly high levels in the industrial areas. The
industrial units located in and at the outskirts of catchment and area around little Akaki River has
the city, exploration and exploitation of natural been the concentration site for industrial
resources, intensive agricultural practices within establishments in the country, possibly selected for

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 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 6 No.1 2013

its suitability of releasing wastewater directly to In summary, the present study concluded that
the river. S1 has been found to have relatively better water
Moreover, there are recent developments quality status(quality class II) compared to S2 and
towards intensive farming in the catchments of S3 (moderately impacted)assessed on the basis of
upper Awash River, mainly focusing on some physico-chemical features and benthic-
floriculture which uses fertilizers and pesticides macroinvertebrates distribution. The result
that are sources of heavy metal residues. Heavy reflected also the land use type in the surrounding
metals occurring in phosphate fertilizers are: Pb, watershed of the River. Moreover, we understood
Cd, As, Cr, Pb, Hg, Ni, and V (Mortvedt, 1996). that benthic-macroinvertebrates may be suitably
Metals and/or metalloids released in such manner used as a quick and economical tools for assessing
are easily transferred to all of the food chain, the ecological status of the streams and rivers
thereby affecting human and animal health. compared to the measurement of physico-chemical
Apparently, the concentrations of the selected parameters which are not only costly but much
nutrients did not differ significantly among the time consuming (Plafkin et al., 1989). We did not
sampling sites (ANOVA, P > 0.05), presumably discuss localized pollution in this paper. However
due to pollution of the whole stream reach by the there is evidence of pollution and water-borne
catchment nutrient sources. diseases at fishing villages around Koka reservoir,
Macroinvertebrate Composition and Abundance downstream of the upper Awash River (Fasil
In the present study, a total of 36 individuals Degefu et al., 2011).
of macroinvertebrate community were identified. These types of pollution may not have affected
The highest family richness was observed in S1, the water quality in the reservoir as a whole, if it
slightly impacted site whilst the least faunal was monitored at the catchment level upstream of
diversity was observed in S3, Koka Bridge; the reservoir. Owing to the results of the present
indicating quality class differences among the sites study, we strongly recommend for integrated
(Figure1). As presented in Table 4, the number of catchment management program around the upper
sensitive taxa in the insect orders Ephemeroptera, Awash River; which instrumentally improves the
Plecoptera and Trichoptera were decreased with stream water quality. Besides, the industries which
increasing perturbation. The results of the present are operating in the upper catchment of the River
sampling were in agreement with other studies in need to treat their wastes before discharging into
Asian and African countries which demonstrated the adjacent river. In most cases, solid and liquid
the impacts of human activity on the water quality wastes from these sources are discharged directly
of streams and rivers using biological indicators into the river system having undergone no
(Kumar, 1994). The absence of the sensitive taxa treatment whatsoever, thereby severely damaging
such as Mayflies, stoneflies, and caddisflies at S3 the river ecology as well as posing serious risks to
was attributed to relatively low concentrations of human health. The River itself is now considered
dissolved oxygen, high level of organic and as an environmental health hazard, due to the high
inorganic in stream pollution from the catchment concentrations of chemical and bacteriological
(Tables 2 and 3).The diversity of species at each pollution. Despite this, nearly half of the town and
sampling stations were affected by changes in all the rural population of the catchment areas are
physico-chemical parameters. Besides, the at one time or other, dependent on it as a source of
pollution sensitive taxa dominating the first water for domestic use and in the worst cases, for
sampling station (S1) were switched to pollution drinking. Most heavily affected are the town and
tolerant organisms such as chironomids and the rural poor, who are also dependent on this
oligochaetes at the second (S2) and third sampling River for irrigation of vegetables and other crops
stations (S3).Therefore, downstream of the upper that they grow with in the town as a source of
Awash River was determined to be polluted based income. These crops inevitably find their way to
on biotic indices assessment of water quality. This the middle class homes as the public buy the
is in agreement with the water quality cheap, healthy looking produce from town
classification based on physico-chemical farmers, not knowing the potential danger posed
parameters (Moog and Sharma, 2005). through the uptake of heavy metals and
bacteriological contamination. Therefore, it is

62
 The Water Quality Degradation of Upper Awash River, Ethiopia....................Fasil Degefu et al.
important to create awareness among all Karr, J.R. and Kerans, B.L. (1991). Components
stakeholders to encourage more integrated of Biological Integrity: Their Definition and Use
catchment management and sustainable practices in Development of an Invertebrate IBI. U.S. EPA
among the riparian communities. Report 905-R-92-003, Environmental sciences
Div., Chicago, IL, 16p.
Acknowledgement Kumar, A. (1994). Role of species diversity of
The authors thank the technical staff members of aquatic insects in the assessment of population in
National Fisheries and Aquaculture Research wetlands of santhal parganas. J Environment and
Center (NFLARC) for their assistance during data pollution.1 (3-4): 117-20.
collection and analyses. This study was financed Mansour, S. A. and Sidky, M.M. (2002).
by the EIAR-National Fisheries and Aquaculture Ecotoxicological studies. Heavy metals
Research Centre, Sebeta, Ethiopia. contaminating water and fish from Fayoum
Governorate, Egypt Food Chemistry .78: 15-22.
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Wildlife Serv. Biol. Rep. 85. Plafkin, JL., Barbour, M.T., Porter, K.D., Gross,
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party on pollution and fisheries .Accra, Ghana, 25- Rivers: Benthic Macroinvertebrates and Fish. U.S.
29 November 1991.FAO fisheries report, 471, Environmental Protection Agency. EPA 440/4-
Rome. 89/001.
Fasil, D., Kibru, T., Gashaw, T., Fikadu, T. and Rosenberg, D.M. and Resh, V.H. (1993).
Aschalew, L. (2011). Some limnological aspects Freshwater Biomonitoring and Benthic
of Koka reservoir, a shallow tropical artificial Macroinvertebrates. Chapman & Hall, New York.
lake, Ethiopia. J. Recent Trends Biosci., 1(1): 94- 488pp.
100. Talling, J. F. and Lemoalle, J. (1998). Ecological
Hall, P.O.J., Holby, O., Kollberg, S. and dynamics of tropical Inland waters. Cambridge
Samuelsson, M.O. (1992). Chemical fluxes and University press 441pp.
mass balance in a marine fish cage farming. IV. Tarrio, J., Jaffor, M. and Ashraf, M. (1991).
Nitrogen. Mar. Ecol. Prog. Ser. 61:61-73. Levels of selected heavy metals in commercial
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 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 6 No.1 2013

WHO (1984). “Guidelines for Drinking Water Zinabu, G. and Elias, D. (1989). Water resources
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quality, 3rd edition. Volume 1. 515pp.

Table 1 Expected and observed values of dissolved oxygen concentrations among pre-classified classes

Quality class Expected Values Observed values Sampling sites

DO (mg L-1) DO DO (mg L-1) DO
saturation saturation
(%) (%)
I 8 or more 95-110 7.84 105.80 1
II >6 70-125 6.98 99.20 2
III 4 or less 50-150 4.67 60.30 3
IV 2 to 4 25-200
V <1 < 10
Note: expected values are from Moog and Sharma (2005) for different quality classes

Table 2 Some physical and chemical features of upper Awash River during the sampling periods

Sampling stations
Parameters
(Average) S1 S2 S3
Water temperature (oc) 23.53 24.37 25.65
Dissolved oxygen (mg L-1) 7.84 6.98 4.67
pH 8.15 8.20 8.63
Conductivity (µs cm-1) 327.67 364.33 492.87
Total-ammonia (mg L-1) 00.03 0.13 0.05
Nitrate-nitrogen (mg L-1) 2.90 17.50 44.70
Total-nitrogen (mg L-1) Nil Nil 2000
Total-phosphorus (mg L-1) 49.00 50.00 56.00
Ortho Phosphate (mg L-1) 49..00 50.00 56.00

64
 The Water Quality Degradation of Upper Awash River, Ethiopia....................Fasil Degefu et al.

Table 3 Concentration of heavy metals in upper Awash River water during the sampling periods

Sampling station
Parameters
(Average) S1 S2 S3

Cadmium (mg L-1) < 0.0001 0.03059 0.06603

Cobalt (mg L-1) < 0.0001 3.449 1.957
Iron (mg L-1) 0.0887 0.2646 0.668
Lead (mg L-1) < 0.0001 13.21 5.062
Zinc (mg L-1) 0.0869 0.0891 0.1469

Table 4 Macroinvertebrate identified during the sampling periods from upper Awash River

Order Family/Genus S1 S2 S3
Gastropoda Physidae P A A
Planorbidae A P A
Thairidae A A P
Oligochaeta Octochaetidae P A A
Lumbriculidae P P A
Tubficidae A A P**
Hirudinea Salifidae P A A
Ephemeroptera Heptagniidae P A A
Baetidae P P P
Caenidae P P A
Odonata Libellulidae P P P
Aeshnidae P A A
Coenagrionidae P P P
Hemiptera Nepidae A P A
Heteroptera Micronectidae P P A
Corixidae P P A
Trichoptera Hydrophschidae P** P A
Coleoptera Elmidae P A P
Gyrinidae P A A
Diptera Chironomidae P P P**
Mucidae P A A
Tipulidae P A A
Simulidae P A A
P A **
presence of BMI; absence of BMI; Dominant taxa

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 Ethiopian Journal of Environmental Studies and Management Vol. 6 No.1 2013

20

15
No. of Families

10

0
Ginchi Bello KokaB

Sampling Stations
Figure 1 Abundance of benthic macroinvertebrates in upper Awash River

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