Water Sci Technol. 2009;60(10):2669-76.
Phosphorus budget in the low-income, peri-urban area of Kibera in Nairobi (Kenya).
Kelderman P, Koech DK, Gumbo B, O’Keeffe J. UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, PO BOX 3015, Delft DA, 2601, The Netherlands E-mail: p.kelderman@unesco-ihe.org ; j.okeeffe@unesco-ihe.org.
Kibera, located in Nairobi, Kenya is one of the largest (235,000 inhabitants) low-income areas in East Africa. Surface waters in Kibera show high pollution levels with respect to SRP (soluble reactive phosphorus; range: 2-10 mg P/L), coming from the uncontrolled wastewater discharges in the area. The different P production and consumption values in Kibera were estimated using interviews (155 interviewed) as well as detailed P house-keeping for five representative families. The results show that highest P consumption comes from food, in particular cereals. Highest P production came from urine (55% of the total) and faeces (31%), with relatively lower contributions from grey water and solid wastes. The overall P budget in Kibera amounted to around 9 x 10(3) kg P/month. This is equivalent to 0.47 g P/person yr, both for P production and consumption, with a relative error of 20%. Comparing with the estimated P outflows via the Kibera surface waters, around 65% of the P produced in Kibera will leave the area. In future ECOSAN techniques such as urine separation could well be applied for efficient recycling of these waste sources.
