The Secret of the Main Campus Water-Wells, Arba Minch University, Ethiopia

Groundwater is one of the precious water sources for domestic, irrigation, and industrial demands in arid and semiarid regions of the world. The same is true in Ethiopia context. In this study, seven groundwater samples were collected and analyzed for various chemical constituents (pH, TDS, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42−, Cl−, HCO3−, and NO3−) to assess the hydrogeochemical characteristics and water types of the groundwater wells. Among the seven sampled groundwater wells, five wells are found and used for domestic water supply in Arba Minch University (AMU) main campus. The remaining two are used for industrial and irrigation demands located at the compound of Textile Factory and Haile Resort, respectively. Results showed that the main campus groundwater wells are saline and harder than the two wells from Textile Factory and Haile Resort. Moreover, elevated concentration of nitrate and potassium (greater than the maximum permissible level allowed in Ethiopia) were obtained in the groundwater sources used mainly in the AMU main campus wells. These elevated concentrations of potassium and nitrate beyond the enriched salt contents in the AMU main campus wells could pose kidney, cardiovascular, and other related health problems. This study, therefore, recommends the AMU to find other groundwater sources for drinking purpose other than the studied water-well field.

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Hydrogeochemical assessment of groundwater of Igboora Area, Southwestern Nigeria

Global Journal of Pure and Applied Sciences ◽

10.4314/gjpas.v26i2.2 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 26 (2) ◽

pp. 99-106

Author(s):

O.A. Akanbi ◽

W. Sanni ◽

O. Oshin ◽

A.G. Olatunde

Keyword(s):

Major Ions ◽

Chemical Constituents ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Southwestern Nigeria ◽

Mean Values ◽

The People ◽

Major Cations ◽

Groundwater Samples ◽

Hydrogeochemical Facies ◽

The Mean

The people of Igboora rely on groundwater for their domestic water supply. A hydrogeochemical study was carried out on twenty-seven groundwater samples collected from various boreholes across the study area to determine the suitability of the groundwater for drinking purpose. The total dissolve solids (TDS), electrical conductivity (EC) and pH of the water were measured in the field directly, while the concentrations of major ions were done in the laboratory using flame photometry and spectrophotometry methods. The hydrogeochemical facies classes was done with piper plot and the likely enrichment source(s) of the chemical facies were interpreted with Gibbs plot in conjunction with correlation analysis. The results showed that the pH was between 5.0 and 6.7 at an average (av.) of 5.8; TDS ranged from 50 – 280 (av. 183) mg/L and EC was 110 – 560 (av. 373) μS/cm. The concentrations of the major cations in mg/L were: 5 – 105.5 Ca2+, 1 – 11.9 Mg2+, 0 - 95 Na+, 0 – 112 K+, while for anions the ranges were, 9 - 58 HCO3 - , 6.8 – 28.8 CO3 2-, 1.1 – 29.4 SO4 2-, 2.9 – 26 Cl- and 16 – 90.5 for NO3 -. From the mean values, the order of the cationic dominance was Ca2+ > K+ > Na+ > Mg2+ while that of anionic was NO3 -> HCO3 - > CO3 2- > CI- > SO4 2- . The hydrogeochemical facies in the groundwater was mainly Ca-HCO3 type with minor occurrences of Na-HCO3 and Ca- Na-HCO3 types. Enrichment source of the cationic chemical facies was mainly rock dominated, while that of the anionic were from meteoric and biogenic sources. From the results of correlation analyses, the TDS has direct and positive relationships with most chemical constituents, indicating that the analysed ionic constituents dominated the dissolved solids in the groundwater. The groundwater can be said to be potable except that the water in the boreholes is slightly acidic and nitrate concentration exceeded recommended limit of 50 mg/L in many of the samples.

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A regional assessment of occurrences, sources and fate of nitrate in groundwater of Alberta

10.5194/egusphere-egu2020-12008 ◽

2020 ◽

Author(s):

Bernhard Mayer ◽

Pauline Humez ◽

Leah Wilson ◽

Michael Nightingale ◽

Cynthia McClain

Keyword(s):

Nitrate Contamination ◽

Isotopic Data ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Concentration Data ◽

Monitoring Wells ◽

Adverse Health Effects ◽

Water Wells ◽

Groundwater Samples ◽

Nitrate Concentrations ◽

Data Points

Nitrate contamination in groundwater is a widespread problem in Europe, Northern America, Asia, and elsewhere due to adverse health effects if the water is used for drinking purposes. The objectives of this study were to a) assess the occurrence of nitrate in groundwater throughout the province of Alberta (Canada), b) to use isotope techniques to assess the predominant sources of nitrate in groundwater, and c) to use a combination of chemical and multi-isotopic techniques to assess the fate of groundwater nitrate. The study utilized >60,000 NO3-N concentration data points from domestic water wells supplemented by 986 chemical and isotopic data points collected from groundwater monitoring water wells in Alberta.In Alberta, nitrate has been detected in 34% (22,943 out of 66,421 samples) of the groundwater samples collected from domestic wells and NO3-N concentrations range from <0.005 to 421 mg NO3-N/L. Nitrate was detected in 18% (180 out of 986 samples) of the groundwater samples collected from monitoring wells with nitrate concentrations ranging from <0.004 to 300 mg NO3-N/L. Nitrate levels in 3.4% (2279 of 66,421 samples) of groundwater samples from domestic wells and <1% (8 out of 986 samples) of groundwater samples from monitoring wells were above the maximum allowable concentration (MAC) in drinking water of 10 mg/L NO3-N. To determine the sources of nitrate in groundwater, we used a multi-isotope approach on a subset of groundwater samples (n < 70) from monitoring wells. Three different potential sources of nitrate in groundwater were identified: 1) nitrate from microbial nitrification of soil organic matter and/or synthetic fertilizers represented by samples with &#948;15N <+6&#8240; and &#948;18O <+5&#8240;; 2) manure-derived nitrate characterized by &#948;18O values <+5&#8240; and elevated &#948;15N values of >+10&#8240; combined with elevated nitrate concentrations; and 3) in a few cases geogenic nitrate in weathered glacial tills where clay-derived ammonium was oxidized to nitrate resulting in the highest nitrate concentrations and unique isotopic compositions of nitrate with &#948;15NNO3values near 26 &#8240; and &#948;18ONO3 values of +5 &#8240;. We also found that the occurrence and concentration of groundwater nitrate was critically dependent on the redox conditions in the aquifers. Geochemical analyses revealed that 66% of all groundwater samples were moderately to highly reducing suggesting that denitrification is a widespread NO3 removal process in groundwater in Alberta. Compiling geochemical and multi-isotopic data enabled us to assess the occurrence and the origins of nitrate in groundwater in Alberta and identify denitrification as an important natural attenuation process that has the potential to remove nitrate from the investigated aquifers.

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Drainage and domestic water-supply investigations in the Milk River Unit, Blaine County, Montana

Open-File Report ◽

10.3133/ofr6350 ◽

1963 ◽

Author(s):

William B. Hopkins ◽

O. James Taylor

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Domestic Water Supply

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Domestic water supply of Babb-Piegan Customs-Immigration Station

Open-File Report ◽

10.3133/ofr60136 ◽

1960 ◽

Author(s):

Frank A. Swenson

Keyword(s):

Water Supply ◽

Domestic Water ◽

Immigration Station ◽

Domestic Water Supply

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Occurrence of carcinogenic illudane glycosides in drinking water wells

Environmental Sciences Europe ◽

10.1186/s12302-021-00486-y ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

Author(s):

Natasa Skrbic ◽

Vaidotas Kisielius ◽

Ann-Katrin Pedersen ◽

Sarah C. B. Christensen ◽

Mathilde J. Hedegaard ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Drinking Water ◽

Health Concern ◽

Liquid Chromatography Mass Spectrometry ◽

Deep Groundwater ◽

Hydrolysis Products ◽

First Finding ◽

Water Wells ◽

Shallow Wells ◽

Great Health ◽

Groundwater Wells

Abstract Background Ptaquiloside (PTA), caudatoside (CAU) and ptesculentoside (PTE) are carcinogenic illudane glycosides found in bracken ferns (Pteridium spp.) world-wide. The environmentally mobile PTA entails both acute and chronic toxicity. A comparable risk might be associated with the structurally similar CAU and PTE. It is of great health concern if these compounds are present in drinking water, however, it is currently unknown if these compounds can detected in wells in bracken-dominated regions. This study investigates the presence of PTA, CAU, PTE, and their corresponding hydrolysis products pterosins B (PtB), A (PtA) and G (PtG) in water wells in Denmark, Sweden and Spain. Water samples from a total of 77 deep groundwater wells (40–100 m) and shallow water wells (8–40 m) were collected and preserved in the field, pre-concentrated in the laboratory and analysed by liquid chromatography–mass spectrometry (LC–MS). Results Deep groundwater wells contained neither illudane glycosides nor their pterosins. However, seven private shallow wells contained at least one of the illudane glycosides and/or pterosins at concentrations up to 0.27 µg L−1 (PTA), 0.75 µg L−1 (CAU), 0.05 µg L−1 (PtB), 0.03 µg L−1 (PtA) and 0.28 µg L−1 (PtG). This is the first finding of illudane glycosides and pterosins in drinking water wells. Conclusions Detected concentrations of illudane glycosides in some of investigated wells exceeded the suggested maximum tolerable concentrations of PTA, although they were used for drinking water purpose. Contaminated wells were shallow with neutral pH and lower electric conductivity compared to deep groundwater wells with no illudane glycosides nor pterosins.

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