Untitled

Groundwater is a vital natural resource for provision of potable water in both the urban and rural environment. Pollution of groundwater may come from urbanization, industrial development, agricultural and mining activities, and also from natural sources. The soil strata have the capacity to attenuate contaminants in the water passing through it. The chemical composition of groundwater is an indicator of its suitability as a source of water for human and livestock consumption, and for many other purposes. In order to ensure safe drinking water for the people in the Volta Region of Ghana, the Community Water and Sanitation Agency (CWSA) in 2003 contracted the CSIR Water Research Institute to carry out groundwater quality assessment of boreholes that had been dug for the rural communities in the Volta Region of Ghana. Major water quality parameters like pH, conductivity, alkalinity, hardness, Ca2þ, ClÀ, NO3-N, NO2-N, SO2À , SiO2, PO4-P, NH3-N, were determined. Most of the parameters were 4 within the WHO guideline values for drinking water. Some parameters, however, gave occasional extreme values in few places. For example, an extreme value of 475 mg/L in NO3-N, far exceeding the WHO guideline value of 10 mg/L, was recorded in a station in the Akatsi district, and similar values elsewhere. The pH values were very satisfactory, ranging from 5.13 to 8.37 for all the three districts in question. Only very few pH values fell below pH 6.

The groundwaters in the three districts were found to be good for potable use. Most of the physico-chemical parameters analysed were within the WHO guideline limits for drinking water. However, few parameters like Fe and Mn exceeded the WHO guideline limits of 0.3 mg/L and 0.4 mg/L, respectively. Although high Fe concentrations may not pose any health hazards to users, the occurrence of the yellowish-brown colouration may cause rejection of such waters by the communities [7]. Some of the groundwaters had nitrate levels exceeding the WHO guideline limit of 10.0 mg/L. Fluoride contamination was not observed in groundwater from the study areas.