摘要：An attempt has been made in this study to characterize the wastewater generated in two communities (i.e. Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology {KNUST} campus and Asafo) within the Kumasi metropolis in the middle belt of Ghana. This study was limited to the quality as well as the quantity of the waste generated to determine the extent of this poor sanitation impacts on river quality. Flow weighed composite samples collected from 6 am to 6 pm each sampling day were prepared and parameters of interest were analyzed at least 4 times per sample collected. During the study, 24 hourly flow rates measurements were taken from the discharge points. About 720 m3 day-1 of wastewater was estimated at KNUST sewage treatment works. Results of the study showed that, the wastewater generated at Asafo treatment plant was also 870 m3 day-1 with a COD of 399, 667 and 2540 mg L-1 obtained for the KNUST grey water, KNUST sewage and Asafo sewage, respectively. BOD recorded was also 198, 310 and 1007 mg L-1, respectively in the same order. With respect to the microbial analysis, the study showed that, faecal and total coliforms per 100 mL were 1.5x106 and 2.7x108 CFU, respectively for the KNUST grey water, that of KNUST sewage was 3.8x107, 5.4x109 and the Asafo sewage was 5.9x108, 4.2x1010. In addition, Ascaris eggs, tapeworms and Fasciola were found in all the wastewaters.
