Umguza River passes on the northern side of Bulawayo, the
second largest city of Zimbabwe. Bulawayo municipality has eight
wastewater treatment plants scattered around the city, by design
none of these should directly release their effluent into the river,
but it has been reported though that wastewater from burst pipes
and inadequately pre-treated industrial effluent have found its way
into nearby water bodies. Dube et al. (2010) reported that raw
sewage was sometimes released into the Mazayi stream, a tributary
to Umguza River; due to malfunctioning of a nearby wastewater
treatment plant. This study sought to establish the level of pollution
of Umguza River and how its self-purification capacity is being
affected by these levels of pollution.