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Public health The
rapid and somewhat unplanned growth of urban populations in coastal districts
has far exceeded the capacity of municipalities to provide the public
health basic services like adequate water supply and sewerage. Low income
levels and rates of child survival reinforce large family size among the
urban poor, exacerbating the conditions of overcrowding and poverty experienced
by the growing numbers of people.
In
terms of downstream impacts the discharge of municipal waste into surface
and near shore waters has resulted in: health risks from the presence
of sewage pathogens, eutrophication/oxygen depletion due to nutrients
and organic carbon, and contamination of the aquatic food chain leading
to toxification of marine organisms and humans.
Wastewater
and drainage systems, water treatment facilities and well planned sewage
out-falls for the major cities and towns along the coast are urgently
needed. Low-cost solutions using bio-remediation and biological filtration
have been effective in other parts of the world and need to be explored.
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