Water Quality and Hydrologic Connectivity in Rural Communities around the Manombo Special Reserve of Southeastern Madagascar During The Dry Season

This study establishes a cross-sectional understanding the water quality and hydrologic connectivity during the dry season among communities in Manombo Special Reserve (MSR) along the coast of the Atsimo-Atsinanana region of Southeastern Madagascar, a region impacted by diarrheal disease, tropical cyclones and flooding. Conducting one measurement per site during the dry season, we collected surface and well water samples from eleven rural villages outside the MSR and surface water samples from two locations in the protected forest and tested for inorganic and bacteriological contamination. Earth observation data was utilized to map the watershed, stream order, and connectivity between water sample sources in the study area. We found negligible inorganic contamination in all of the villages and sampled areas of the forest. However, the majority of villages contained levels of total coliforms and Escherichia coli (E. coli) exceeding the World Health Organization and Madagascar’s Water Code drinking water standards. Village water sources were categorized into two types of use, drinking-only and general-use (i.e. for washing and bathing). There was a significant difference in E. Coli concentrations between drinkingonly and general-use sources. We did not find a substantial difference between E. Coli levels in the uninhabited protected forest and the villages. The watershed delineation revealed that the majority of the water sources were first-order ephemeral streams, and some of the drinking-only sources were located downstream from contaminated general-use sources. Investigation into the E. coli strains and sources, seasonal variability and temporal trends, hydrologic dynamics, and climate-related events is required to understand the drivers of bacteriological contamination and associated health outcomes.