scholarly journals Evaluative Study of River Birim in Denkyembuor, Ghana, Using Water Quality Indices

Author(s):  
Victus Bobonkey Samlafo ◽  
Desmond Adakwah

Aim: To evaluate water quality of the river Birim after a two-year ban as a result of illegal mining activities in the catchment areas of the river. Methodology: Samples were taken during wet and dry seasons in acid-washed plastic containers. Two water quality indices were adapted for the river under study and used in the evaluation. These were Water Quality Index (WQI) and Heavy Metal Pollution Index (HPI). Twelve physicochemical parameters, such as pH, turbidity, conductivity, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, total hardness, alkalinity, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate, Fluoride, and chloride which were life-threatening and generally acceptable in water quality were used to evaluate the water quality index. The computed WQI was 439.168, which fell within the unfit for drinking category with turbidity and total suspended solids positively influencing the index.  Iron, (Fe), As, Mn, and Hg were used to evaluate HPI, with an index value of 39.49, which was excellent considering a critical value of 100 set, below which the water is fit for good drinking water. Conclusion: Except for heavy metal pollution, the river Birim is unfit for drinking without chemical treatment and that, the two-year ban on artisanal small-scale mining was not enough for the river to recover fully from previous pollution episodes and hence did not have any impact on water quality of the river Birim.

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Pritam Mazinder Baruah ◽  
Gurdeep Singh

Abstract The dense and industrialized populace in the mining areas of Jharia Coalfield (JCF) is plagued by a severe shortage of water supply. The unutilized pumped out coal minewater discharges may be utilized to cater to the increasing water demand of the region but it runs the risk of getting contaminated from domestic and industrial effluents. The current study aimed to assess the suitableness of augmenting underground minewater for potable purposes. Minewater samples collected from 15 locations (minewater treatment plants) across JCF for the hydrological year 2019-2020 were analysed to gain an insight on the physico-chemical characteristics of the minewater using an integrated approach of standard hydrochemical methods, Integrated Water Quality Index (IWQI), Heavy metal Pollution Index (HPI) and Multivariate Statistical Analysis. The integrated approach gives a holistic assessment of the minewater quality, overcoming the limitations of traditional water quality indices, to give a more accurate assessment. The analysis of minewater in the region identified Ca–Mg–HCO3 and Ca–Mg–Cl–SO4 as the two major water types. Principal Component Analysis (PCA) and Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA) of the minewater revealed the influence of lithogenic and anthropogenic processes in modulating the water chemistry of the region. This study could facilitate effective water quality management practices while also laying the foundation for augmenting minewater for potable purposes to meet increasing demands.


2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (3) ◽  
Author(s):  
Zemed Menberu ◽  
Beshah Mogesse ◽  
Daniel Reddythota

AbstractLake Hawassa is one of the major Ethiopian Rift Valley Lakes having an endorheic basin system. The surrounding community makes use of the lake water for the multiple purposes of irrigation, domestic water supply, recreation and fish harvesting. The aim of the present study was to ascertain the water quality of the lake in terms of water quality indices (WQI) and its health over a period of three months covering both dry and wet seasons. Overall, the water quality of Lake was unfit and bad as per the weighted arithmetic method (120.06–228.29) and modified Bascarón water quality index (MBWQI) methods (26.81–33.89), respectively. However, the quality was indicated as marginal, as per the Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (CCME) water quality index method (44.2–51.1). On average, the lake was under the hypertrophic stage as per the standard based on the results of Secchi depth and nutrient concentration. The current study showed the lake being unfit for all-purposes as per WAWQI range (> 100). According to the physicochemical and biological parameters, of the lake, it requires mitigation measures to control Eutrophication and pollutants inflow.


Data in Brief ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 22 ◽  
pp. 878-884 ◽  
Author(s):  
T. Mohanakavitha ◽  
R. Divahar ◽  
T. Meenambal ◽  
K. Shankar ◽  
Vijay Singh Rawat ◽  
...  

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
Author(s):  
Raphael Terungwa Iwar ◽  
Joseph Terlumun Utsev ◽  
Martina Hassan

AbstractIn this work, the quality of River Benue water at Makurdi was assessed for its heavy metal load alongside seven other physico-chemical parameters using water quality index (WQI) and multivariate statistical tools. A total of 45 samples from three (3) different points along the River course were collected for five months (October 2018–May, 2019) spanning the dry and wet seasons. Samples were analysed  in accordance with standard methods. Most of the parameters evaluated were found to fall in the allowable limits of the World Health Organization (WHO) among others, except for colour, turbidity, total suspended solids, nickel, lead and cadmium. WQI analysis using the BISWQI, OWQI and CCMEWQI indicated that all indexing methods were suitable for estimating the WQI of River Benue as they all showed that the water corresponded to the classification as “poor water”. Heavy metal index of the river ranged from13.40–6080.00 and from 47.07–7240.00 for the dry and wet seasons, respectively, and was majorly influenced by high cadmium and lead pollution levels. Principal component analysis (PCA) revealed three rotated factor with respective communality levels for both the dry and wet seasons. Factor 1 was positively loaded with nine parameters which accounted for 32.3% of the total variance during the dry season, while it was positively loaded with 10 parameters in the wet season accounting for 25.9% of total variance. Hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) revealed that the river was zoned into four clusters each for both dry and wet seasons. Sampling points 2 and 3 were the most polluted during the dry season, while sampling point 1 was found to be the most polluted in the wet season. It was concluded that the increasing and diverse nature of anthropogenic activities on the river course was responsible for the deteriorating quality of the water. The study recommended continuous pollution monitoring and local regulations to reduce the entrance of both diffuse and point source pollution into the river.


2020 ◽  
Vol 10 (5) ◽  
pp. 94-104
Author(s):  
J. Safieh ◽  
D. Rebwar ◽  
M.H. Hamed

Background: Providing fresh water suitable for drinking and farming and living organisms in the ecosystem is essential. To evaluate water quality, qualitative indicators are often employed for managing water resources and water quality protection and pollution abatement. Aim: This study evaluated the quality of Borkhar basin water resources using three different water quality indices, including National Institutes of Health Water Quality Index (NIHWQI) having nine parameters, the Oregon Water Quality Index (OWQI) having eight parameters, and the Canadian Water Quality Indices (CWQI) with 22 main parameters. Material and methods: Using data for a period of 30 years, NIHWQI, OWQI and CWQI were used. To analyze water quality of the entire basin for current and future time. New findings: Results showed that water quality of the basin was in a very moderate range according to NSFWQI, and was in a very bad range accordingly to OWQI. Water quality forecasts showed that future water quality would be bad, based on OWQI and moderate based on NSFWQI, whereas based on CWQI, it will be good for drinking, and bad for aquatic animals, recreation, irrigation, and livestock use.


2020 ◽  
Vol 24 (2) ◽  
pp. 265-290
Author(s):  
Said A. Shetaia ◽  
Atef M. Abu Khatita ◽  
Nabil A. Abdelhafez ◽  
Ibrahim M. Shaker ◽  
Sameh B. El Kafrawy

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