Evidence map›Paper›PMID 42684497›Full record

ArticleEnvironmental monitoring and assessment2026

Impact of car-wash wastewater discharge on urban streams: a case study from Jimma city, southwestern Ethiopia.

Mahmud Ahmednur, Derartu Nasir, Samson Ayele, Higemengist Astatkie, Megersa Worku Tesso, Dessalegn Dadi Olani, Kasahun Eba

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Environmental monitoring and assessment, 2026. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.

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0citing papers in PubMed
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1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

0 citing papers in PubMed.

No citing paper in PubMed yet.

4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

7 authors.

Mahmud AhmednurInstitute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia. mahmud.ahmednur@ju.edu.et.
Derartu NasirInstitute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Samson AyeleInstitute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Higemengist AstatkieSchool of Public Health, Department of Environmental Health, Bahir Dar University, Bahir Dar, Ethiopia.
Megersa Worku TessoDepartment of Public Health, Dambi Dollo University, Dambi Dollo, Ethiopia.
Dessalegn Dadi OlaniInstitute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.
Kasahun EbaInstitute of Health, Department of Environmental Health Sciences and Technology, Jimma University, Jimma, Ethiopia.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Freshwater ecosystems in rapidly urbanizing regions are increasingly threatened by effluent discharges. Car-wash stations are a significant source of pollution, releasing effluents rich in detergents, oils, and organic matter directly into streams. Despite global evidence demonstrating the effects of car-wash effluent on receiving water bodies, it remains overlooked in Ethiopia. This study assessed the impact of car-wash effluent on water quality and habitat condition of urban streams in Jimma city, Ethiopia. The study was conducted at seven car-wash stations in April 2023. Forty-two water samples were collected from upstream, discharge, and downstream sites during weekdays and weekends and analyzed for different physicochemical quality parameters. Habitat integrity was evaluated using the USEPA rapid bioassessment protocol. Principal component analysis (PCA) was applied to identify water quality variation among stream sites. This study revealed deteriorated water quality at discharge points, with significantly higher mean values for turbidity (483.3 ± 193.5 NTU), total suspended solids (TSS) (561.0 ± 460.9 mg/L), and 5-day biochemical oxygen demand (BOD₅) (333.6 ± 104.5 mg/L) and with lower dissolved oxygen (DO) record (4.7 ± 1.5 mg/L) compared to upstream sites (p < 0.05). Higher BOD₅, orthophosphate, nitrate, and water temperature were recorded during weekends compared to weekdays. PCA results showed that discharge points were associated with elevated turbidity, TSS, BOD₅, and orthophosphate, which are inversely correlated with DO. Habitat scores classified most discharge points as poor and several downstream sites as marginal, suggesting ecological stress consistent with car-wash effluent impacts. These findings indicate a need for targeted monitoring and regulatory attention to uncontrolled car-wash wastewater discharge.

Indexed as

AutomobilesEnvironmental MonitoringRiversWastewaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalCitiesEthiopiaWaste Disposal, FluidWater QualityWastewaterWater Pollutants, ChemicalCar-washEffluentJimma cityPollutionUrban streamWater quality

Identifiers

PMID42684497
PMCPMC13538205

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Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.