Health risk of waterborne infections in contaminated urban floodwater: the case study of Sukhumvit in Bangkok, Thailand | |
| Author | Mutua, Rhoda Mutanu |
| Call Number | AIT Thesis no.UWEM-18-02 |
| Subject(s) | Waterborne infection-- Bangkok Water quality-- |
| Note | A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Master of Science in Urban Water Engineering and Management Jointly offered by Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand and UNESCO-IHE, Delft, the Netherlands |
| Publisher | Asian Institute of Technology |
| Series Statement | Thesis; no. UWEM-18-02 |
| Abstract | Extreme rain events may lead to sewer overflows which when mixes with surface and drinking water contaminate and increases the level of pathogen concentration in it. This poses a great risk to public health especially when individuals are exposed to contaminated water resulting in water-borne infectious diseases, which is a global challenge. However, it is still unclear the extent to which the infections pose a risk to public health. This study analysed flooding and reported diarrhoea cases in Sukhumvit, Thailand. The results showed a close relationship between diarrhoea and rainfall events. An average of 575 more diarrhoea cases was reported during wet months as compared to dry months with population-based incidence rates of 809 cases per 100,000 people. The study further looked into the land-cover change in the area for the years 1988, 2002 and 2015 using Landsat images obtained from USGS website. The results depicted the highest change happened in 1988-2002 with an increase of urban areas from 1533 ha to 2453 ha and vegetation decreased from 1873ha to 964 ha. The rate of change was -3.5% for vegetation cover and 4.3% for urban areas during the period 1988-2002. Vegetation cover decreased continuously up to 2015 to 605 ha with urban areas increasing continuously to 2824 ha. The study used 1D Hydrodynamic Advection-Dispersion model to simulate the dispersion of faecal coliform concentration in the drainage network. The results depict higher concentrations for dry weather flows and a large dilution of concentration on onset of a rainfall event resulting in drop of the concentration. This is due to the large amounts of runoff generated. The study further coupled 1D/2D Hydrodynamic Advection-Dispersion model to simulate the overland flow along the streets. The results present maximum flood depth of 0.478m, 118 minutes maximum flood duration and 1.74*10^5 MPN/100ml concentration of faecal coliform. Most of the areas indicate low hazard of infection from waterborne pathogens. During non-peak hours the general risk in most areas is low since the number of people along the streets is low whereas during peak hours the risk in most areas is medium with some parts recording high risk. |
| Year | 2018 |
| Corresponding Series Added Entry | Asian Institute of Technology. Thesis; no. UWEM-18-02 |
| Type | Thesis |
| School | School of Environment, Resources, and Development (SERD) + School of Engineering and Technology (SET) |
| Department | Department of Energy and Climate Change (Former title: Department of Energy, Environment, and Climate Change (DEECC)) |
| Academic Program/FoS | Agricultural Water Management (AWM) |
| Chairperson(s) | Sutat Weesakul;Vojinovic, Zoran ; |
| Examination Committee(s) | Shrestha, Sangam;Thammarat Koottatep;Torres, Arlex Sanchez ; |
| Scholarship Donor(s) | Netherlands Fellowship Program (NFP) ; |