Evaluation of Groundwater Suitability for Domestic and Irrigational Purposes: A Case Study from Mingoa River Basin, Yaounde, Cameroon

Abstract

A baseline study involving analyses of subsurface water samples from the Mingoa river basin (longitude: 11°30′E; latitude: 3°52′N) in migmatitic complex in Yaounde Cameroon (central Africa) was carried out to assess their suitability for drinking, domestic and agricultural purposes. Study results show that pH is ranged between 5.1≤ pH ≤ 5.8 and then, induces acidic waters. Groundwater samples are generally characterized by low conductivity values, of which 100% are within the range (55 ≤ EC ≤ 1500 µS/cm). The mean values of the major cations (Ca<sup>2+</sup>, Mg<sup>2+</sup>, Na<sup>+</sup>, K<sup>+</sup>) and anions (SO<sub>4</sub><sup>2–</sup> , Cl<sup>–</sup>, HCO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> ) are all within the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Two of the springs sampled have nitrate (NO<sub>3</sub><sup>–</sup> ) contamination. Even though contamination and acidic waters exist in some of the springs, the majority of the springs are excellent for agricultural and domestic purposes. Assessment of the groundwater for agricultural irrigation revealed two main categories. These are low salinity-low sodicity (C1-S1) and medium salinity-low sodicity (C2-S1), using the US Salinity Laboratory (USSL) classification scheme. As much as all of the samples plotted in the “excellent to good” and “good to permissible” categories on the Wilcox diagram. The groundwater in the study area may therefore be regarded as good for irrigation activities. The major identifiable geochemical processes responsible for the evolution of the various ions are mineral weathering, chemical reactions and anthropogenic activities

Drinking Water Quality Assessment of Union Council Dhamni, Poonch, Azad Jammu and Kashmir, Pakistan, Using Water Quality Index and Multivariate Statistical Analysis

“…Results also demonstrated that there is strong correlation between Cl -,Ca 2+ ,Mg 2+ ,SO 2-4..it might be due to similar source like parent material. Similar results were also obtained by other researchers (Ghislain et al, 2012). Results of correlation showed that physicochemical parameters are important in effecting the quality of water i.e.…”

GIS-Hydrogeochemical Model of the Yaoundé Fractured Rock Aquifer, Cameroon: Aquifer Setting, Seasonal Variations in Groundwater-Rock Interaction and Water Quality

“…Although a comprehensive hydrogeological investigation has not been made heretofore of the whole city of Yaoundé, many researchers have carried out works on selected groundwater topics and in parts of Yaoundé. Notable amongst them are: Flow dynamics of lineaments in Yaoundé (Teikeu et al, 2016); mass balance of Nitrogen and Potassium in parts of Yaoundé (Kringel et al, 2016); assessment of groundwater quality for domestic and irrigation purposes in parts of Yaoundé (Tabue et al, 2012); use of geoelectric tools to explore the lithostratigraphy of the aquiferous formations in parts of Yaoundé (Teikeu et al, 2012); assessment of bacterial contamination in the Mfoundi Watershed (Kuitcha et al, 2010) and modeling of groundwater flow in Yaoundé IV district (Fouepe et al, 2011).…”

Assessment of Surface Water Quality of Bétaré-Oya Gold Mining Area (East-Cameroon)

“…The bicarbonate was the most abundant in the river water, despite the absence of a dominant carbonate lithology in the study area. The HCO 3 − could be derived from weathering of silicates rocks and CO 2 from soil and organic material [58] [59]. In this study, alkalinity is mainly in the form of bicarbonates.…”