Date of this Version Rwanda is a landlocked country located in
Africa's Central-East Great Lakes region. It has a population of
7.5 million which occupies 26,338 km'. Its population density
(285/km') is one of the highest in the world and has prompted
fear of a rapid degradation of the ecosystem. There are no
central sewer systems in Rwanda. The use of pit latrines and
septic tanks is common in urban and rural areas. People still
defecate in the fields (World Bank, 1989). Less than half of the
urban population is served by a central water supply. The
majority of people get their water untreated from rivers that
have been polluted by chemicals and human excreta. In and around
the capital city of Kigali, there is a concentration of people,
farms, and industries which discharge wastewater into the
Nyabarongo River and its tributaries. The Nyabarongo River, a
tributary of the Nile, empties into the Akagera River which
flows into Lake Victoria. Nyabarongo River water is used for
drinking water, cooking, bathing, a