Urbanization and Water Quality; The Effect of Bujumbura Municipal Effluents on the Western Shores of L. Tanganyika in Burundi

Lake Tanganyika is, one of the African Great Lakes, and the world�s second longest and deepest freshwater lake. It is shared among four countries: Tanzania, Democratic Republic of Congo, Burundi and Zambia. Lake Tanganyika is one of the resource-rich freshwater Lakes and is highly valued for its recreational, aesthetic and scenic qualities. Lake Tanganyika is an important hotspot of biodiversity, with 40 % of its 1, 500 plant and animal species being endemic. However, Lake Tanganyika basin is facing multiple challenges as a result of rapid expansion of human population in the riparian countries. The city of Bujumbura (Burundi) was identified as the greatest pollution threat on the lakeshore, because it hosts a variety of industries and pollution sources close to the lakeshore. This research assessed the effect of urbanization on water quality of Lake Tanganyika in two divisions Ngagara and Kanyosha of Bujumbura city an established and upcoming division respectively, in Burundi. The research used both qualitative and quantitative methods. Water samples were collected from the point sources of pollution, along the lake away from the point source. The water samples were collected at different times of the day and were taken to the laboratory for analysis of the physico-chemical and micro-biological parameters. The results showed high mean Electrical Conductivity (925.55 � 275.147 �S/cm), TDS (453. � 150.438mg/l), Turbidity (374.8 � 273.4 NTU), Chloride (52.6 � 35.1mg/l), and Escherichia coli (45.89�42.18 CFU/100ml) were recorded in Ngagara division, and were above WHO Maximum Permissible Limits for Effluent Discharge. Significantly higher (p less than 0.05) values of physico-chemical and microbiological parameters of water from the two divisions were recorded for most of the parameters; indicating that Rapid Urban Development (road construction, towns and cities, building houses, industrialization, sewage effluents discharge) contributed to the deterioration of the water quality of Lake Tanganyika. This trend suggests that the studied littoral zone of Lake Tanganyika (Ngagara) has undergone pollution. Therefore, this research recommends that waste waters should be properly treated before discharge into the Lake. Decision makers should effectively plan for urbanization without compromising the health of environmental resources such as water bodies in order to attain sustainability development.