Gyasi Samuel Fosu, Boamah Bismark, Awuah Esi, Otabil Kenneth Bentum
Department of Basic and Applied Biology, School of Science, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana.
Department of Energy and Environmental Engineering, School of Engineering, University of Energy and Natural Resources, Sunyani, Ghana.
J Environ Public Health. 2018 Oct 1;2018:6471525. doi: 10.1155/2018/6471525. eCollection 2018.
Large dams play an important role in promoting economic and social development in many countries. However, the construction of such dams can have a detrimental effect on the environment. The aim of this study was to investigate perceptions of drinking water quality among inhabitants of selected communities within the Bui Dam environs. With the help of questionnaires, 100 respondents from communities "near to the dam" were randomly selected and interviewed. Their responses were compared with another 100 respondents selected from "far from the dam" communities. These were augmented with in-depth interviews, focus group discussion, and personal observation. Analysis of the results showed that, there were greater proportions (31%) of the participants who lived in "near communities" within the age category 20-25 compared to 19% of their "far communities" counterparts. There were significantly greater proportions of female respondents in the "near to the dam" (57%) compared to respondents in the "far from the dam" communities (52%). The study further showed that the perception of risk of consuming contaminated drinking water was more common among "far from the dam" communities (odds ratio = 4.57). The perception of the quality of water based on some physical properties was investigated as part of our study. Analysis of the results showed that significantly greater proportion of the "far from the dam" communities (35%) perceived their water had an objectionable smell compared to 7% of inhabitants of their other counterparts ( value = 0.001). The study further showed that significantly greater proportion of the study participants in the far from the communities perceived that their water had colour (65%) and they did not drink water from any other source (63%) apart from their stream. The study demonstrated that generally, inhabitants within the study communities perceived the construction of the Bui Power Project has negatively affected their drinking water quality.
大型水坝在许多国家的经济和社会发展中发挥着重要作用。然而，此类水坝的建设可能会对环境产生不利影响。本研究的目的是调查布伊水坝周边选定社区居民对饮用水质量的看法。借助问卷调查，从“靠近水坝”社区随机挑选了100名受访者进行访谈。他们的回答与从“远离水坝”社区挑选的另外100名受访者的回答进行了比较。此外还进行了深入访谈、焦点小组讨论和个人观察。结果分析表明，年龄在20至25岁之间居住在“近社区”的参与者比例更高（31%），而居住在“远社区”的对应比例为19%。与“远离水坝”社区的受访者（52%）相比，“靠近水坝”社区的女性受访者比例显著更高（57%）。该研究进一步表明，“远离水坝”社区的居民更普遍地认为饮用受污染的水存在风险（优势比=4.57）。作为我们研究的一部分，还调查了基于某些物理特性的水质量看法。结果分析表明，与其他社区7%的居民相比，“远离水坝”社区中显著更高比例（35%）的居民认为他们的水有难闻的气味（P值=0.001）。该研究进一步表明，“远离水坝”社区中显著更高比例的研究参与者认为他们的水有颜色（65%），并且除了溪流之外，他们不饮用任何其他水源的水（63%）。该研究表明，总体而言，研究社区内的居民认为布伊电力项目的建设对他们的饮用水质量产生了负面影响。
