Assessment of groundwater and surface water quality in a typical mining community: application of water quality indices and hierarchical cluster analyses

Abstract

The rate at which freshwater sources are being contaminated by mining operations in the South-Western part of Ghana is alarming. However, no study has quantified the degree of contamination of the freshwater in such areas thus, leaving a gap in the literature that requires immediate attention. This study assessed the quality of the surface and groundwater in the Tarkwa Nsuaem Municipality. Even though the physical parameters such as pH and electrical conductivity were indicative of safe freshwater, other parameters such as turbidity, total suspended solids (TSS), dissolved oxygen (DO), and heavy metals in the water sources were high; thus, confirming possible leaching, runoff, and dissolution of the hazardous substances employed in the manganese mining operations. The water quality of 82% of the water sources along the Kawere Stream was low (Classes III and IV). Therefore, the local people are at risk of contracting water-related diseases, and health problems associated with the ingestion of Fe, As, and Mn. The findings in this study are important in establishing the rate at which mining operations are reducing the quality of freshwater in developing countries, and potentially affecting human health.

Sub-Index Model to Assess Groundwater Water Quality for Drinking and Civil Uses

“…The weighted sub-index model was applied to eleven important characteristics compared to the global standard limits for drinking water (WHO 2017) using the following equations (CHEBET et al, 2020;SUNITHA;RADDY, 2022;ANANG et al, 2023): where: K: proportionality constant; Sti: standard limits for each parameter; Wti: weight value for each trait as shown in Table 2; Qri: quality rating for each parameter; Cvi: measured concentration of the parameter; Subi: sub-index for each parameter.…”

Heavy metal contamination from fuel station run-off and carwash wastewater: An assessment of ecological risk and experimental treatment

“…Heavy metal pollution of surface and groundwater from anthropogenic activities is a major problem worldwide. Mining is a key human activity which contributes to the heavy-metal pollution of surface and groundwater sources and soil in Ghana [ [1] , [2] , [3] ]; the processing of crude oil into petroleum products in Nigeria has also been linked to groundwater contamination with lead [ 4 ], whilst and the discharge of wastewater from domestic, industrial, and agricultural settings as well as atmospheric deposition were suggested as the cause of heavy metals contamination in northern Chinese soil and sediments [ 5 ]. Although other anthropogenic sources of heavy metals into the environment are known, the scale and frequency of these activities are sometimes limited.…”