Assessment of groundwater quality in Bamenda–Cameroon for suitable applications

Abstract

Groundwater quality of the Bamenda metropolis (Northwest Region-Cameroon) was assessed for its suitability for possible uses. A total of 22 groundwater samples were collected from dug wells and boreholes within the Bamenda town during the wet and dry seasons. Hydrodynamics and physicochemical parameters were measured. Other parameters including, major ions, sodium percentage (Na %), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), and water quality index (WQI) were deduced from chemical analysis, and their distributions were demonstrated using spatial distribution contour maps. Durov's plot, Gibbs diagram, and chloro-alkaline indices were used to deduce the source and detect the groundwater samples for different applications. The findings indicate that groundwater flows in the study area from shallow to deep aquifers. Piper's plot shows Ca-Mg-CO 3-HCO 3 and Ca-Mg-Cl-SO 4 as the main water types. WQI and World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines show that all the groundwater samples have excellent water quality for drinking purpose. Electrical conductivity (EC), Na %, and SAR values indicate that all wet season water samples are of low-salinity class, whereas dry season samples are of low to medium salinity; hence, all the samples are suitable for irrigation. Though there is extensive use of agricultural fertilizers and intense urbanization in the metropolis, anthropogenic activities, for now, seem to have minimal impact on the quality of groundwater.

Evaluation of the Variability of Drinking Water Quality within Bamenda Metropolis, North West Region, Cameroon

“…According to the results presented on Water quality index considers a result of the composite influence of the different water parameters [50]. Results from the calculations of WQI showed that direct spring sources (GSS, GSS2 and GSS3) were most reliable regardless of the season; this is similar to the work of Akoanung [15]. More attention, in terms of water treatment should be given to water from stream most especially during the wet season.The WQI provides an overview of the water quality but does not replaced the need for a detail statistical analysis of water samples [26,27].…”

“…A total of 22 samples were collected with 11 in the dry season and 11in the wet season. The technique used for sampling was the stratified grid sampling method based on access and utilization rate as carried out by [15]. Water samples collected per season was based on the different types of drinking water network in Bamenda (Table 1).…”

“…The city of Bamenda located along the Cameroon volcanic line (CVL) is endowed with watershed [12] [13] and characterized by unplanned urbanization, rapid population increase which has brought intense settlement, agricultural exploration and drinking water crisis [12,14,15]. The drinking water situation in Bamenda has been researched by several authors.…”

“…[13] studied the physico-chemical and bacteriological characterization of springs and well water in Bamenda III Council. [15] assessed groundwater quality in Bamenda for suitable application and [16] assess ground water quality for domestic and irrigation purpose in Northern Bamenda. These studies were geared toward analyzing ground water quality.…”

Spatio-Temporal Water Quality Assessment and Pollution Source Apportionment of Lake Chamo using Water Quality Index and Multivariate Statistical Techniques

“…Concentrations of LC Hardness (TH) in water resources is a significant property that determines the applicability of water for domestic consumption [30]. It is mainly determined due to calcium and magnesium in the water and is often expressed as calcium carbonate.…”