1. Dr. Bernerd Fulanda
Dr. Joseph Kamau
Ms. Chepkemboi Labatt
Assessment of Faecal Pollution at
Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach,
Mombasa
By: Kodia Maxwell Azali
I114/0614/2010
Supervisors:

2. Presentation Overview
 Introduction
 Objective
 Specific Objectives
 Literature Review
 Materials and Methods
 Description of Study Site
 Survey Design
 Enterococci enumeration
 E. coli enumeration
 Data Analysis
 Expected Results

3. Introduction
 Sewage pollution is a major problem in many urban
settlements all over the world
 65% of coast province has no access to a sewerage
system
 Less than 30% of Mombasa county residents have access
to sewerage services
 The county is serviced with two sewage treatment plants,
 The Kipevu plant has been recently rehabilitated while
the Kizingo plant collapsed 20 years ago.

4. Introduction cont…
 Faecal Enterococci and Escherichia coli (E. coli) have been
used as an index of faecal pollution in recreational waters.
 Most Enterococci and E. coli species are not pathogenic but
are important indicators of faecal pollution and possible
presence of enteric pathogens.
 Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach located at Bamburi is one of
the biggest open access recreational areas along the
coastal stretches of Mombasa county

5. Introduction cont…
 The beach hosts many tourists both local and
international.The coastline is dotted with over 70 tourist
hotels
 Raw sewage is discharged into the ocean by some of the
establishments.
 Sewage pollution poses a major health risk to tourists
and resource users frequenting the beach and
contaminates marine life.

6. Objective
 To investigate the extent of faecal pollution at Jomo
Kenyatta Public Beach in Mombasa county.

7. Specific Objectives
1. To investigate the degree of faecal pollution at Jomo
Kenyatta Public Beach
2. To investigate the variation in faecal pollution levels at
high tide and at low tide.
3. To explore the status of water quality at Jomo Kenyatta
Public Beach in reference to its potential for
recreational use.

8. Literature Review
 Mombasa county waste and wastewater management is
inadequately wanting.
 Pit latrines and soak-pits are used to dispose wastewater
contributing to ground water pollution
 Septic tanks to be emptied by the county government but
this doesn’t happen
 In the United States, an estimated 1.8 to 3.5 million
people suffer serious health issues from swimming in
sewage-contaminated waters.

9. Literature Review cont…
 Globally sewage pollution causes 4 million deaths
Annually
 Sewage pollution is compounded by
 population growth that increases pressure on sewage
collection and treatment systems.
 urban development that creates land impervious to storm
water.
 climate change that increases the severity of storms during wet
weather.

10. Literature Review cont…
 Pathogenic micro organisms in faecal matter cause
illnesses from short term stomach upsets to fatal
conditions such as heart inflammation.
 Vulnerable populations face serious illnesses from the use
of contaminated recreational waters
 Inadequately treated sewage contaminates filter-feeding
shellfish; the viruses and bacteria are bio-magnified in
these organisms to between 100 and 900x

11. Literature Review cont…
 Sewage contaminated water leads to eutrophication in
receiving waters (BOD)
 Turbidity occasioned by suspended solids in sewage stream
may shade sea grasses
 Toxic organisms and metals in sewage stream can lead to the
death of marine life
 Existing international water standards have not been widely
implemented in the WIO region
 Nationally Kenya has set minimum water quality standards for
all its waters and for different uses

12. Literature Review cont…
 Kenya’s water quality regulations prohibit the discharge of
pollutants into water (3rd Schedule)
 The use of any natural body of water for recreational
purposes is also prohibited (10th Schedule)
 Maximum permissible levels of total coliforms and faecal
coliforms in recreational waters are 500 and nil counts
per 100 ml respectively.
 Enterococci are preferred for monitoring marine waters as
their densities correlate best to adverse health outcomes.

13. Materials and Methods
 Enterococci and E. coli will be used to assess the extent of
faecal pollution at Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach.
 Method 1600: Enterococci inWater by Membrane Filtration
Using membrane Enterococcus Indoxyl-β-D-Glucoside Agar
(mEI)
 Method 1603: Escherichia coli (E. coli) inWater by Membrane
Filtration Using Modified membrane-Thermotolerant
Escherichia coli Agar (Modified mTEC)

14. Description of Study Site
 Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach is located in Bamburi area,
Mombasa county.
 It’s one of the biggest open access recreational areas
along the coastal stretches of Mombasa county.
 Attracts resident resource users, local tourists and
international tourist and is an important source of
livelihood to the residents.
 Development and unregulated beach activities have
increased pollution on the beach and the ocean

15. Description of Study Site cont…
Source:Tim K.

16. Survey Design
 Samples will be collected bi-weekly for a period of 3 months.
 Five sampling stations along the beach namely; Reef Hotel,
KenyaWildlife Service, Pirates Beach Hotel, Hotel Sai Rock
and Serena Beach
 At each station, samples will be collected from near shore
areas and areas further the shore at both high and low tide
 Six water samples will be collected per station per tidal regime
at a depth of 15-30 centimeters.

17. Survey Design
 Enumerated Enterococci and E. coli in sample volume will
be converted to colony forming units (cfu) per 100 ml of
sample
 Count per 100 mL = (No. of colonies counted/Volume of
sample filtered, in mL) x 100.

18. Enterococci Enumeration
 Samples will be passed through a membrane filter
 Filter placed on a modified selective membrane
Enterococcus Indoxyl-β -D-Glucoside Agar
 Membrane will be incubated at 41+/- 0.50C for 24 hours
 After incubation, colonies appearing with a blue halo
when viewed under a microscope are enumerated.
 Membrane filters with developed count limits of 20 to 60
colonies per filter will be enumerated

19. Enterococci Enumeration
Source: U.S EPA Method 1600

20. E. coli Enumeration
 Sample volumes will be passed through a membrane filter
 Filter placed on a selective and differential medium,
Modified membrane-Thermotolerant Escherichia coli Agar
(Modified mTEC)
 Membrane will be incubated at 35° C for 2 to 2½ h to
resuscitate injured or stressed bacteria
 Then incubated at 44.5° C for 22-24h.
 After incubation, colonies appearing red or magenta are
considered E. coli

21. E. coli Enumeration
Source: U.S EPA Method 1603

22. Enumeration
 E. coli membrane filters with developed count limits of 20
to 80 colonies per filter will be enumerated.
 For both:
 Enumeration will involve viewing the membrane under a
stelescopic microscope or a magnifying glass 2-5x using a
fluorescent bulb held perpendicularly over the membrane.

23. Data Analysis
 ANOVA will be used to:
 Compare Enterococci and E. coli densities from the different
sampling stations
 Compare samples within stations.
 Compare samples collected during high and low tide.
 The geometric mean of a minimum of five sample
volumes per 30-day period will be calculated.
 Guidelines for recreational marine waters 35
Enterococci/100ml

24. Expected Results
 Help deduce if Jomo Kenyatta Public Beach is safe for
recreational water use
 Data and information gathered is useful to NEMA and
other stakeholders for strengthening the compliance and
enforcement of water quality regulations.