Hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater in the Kingston Basin, Kingston, Jamaica

Abstract

The Kingston Basin in Jamaica is an important hydrologic basin in terms of both domestic and industrial sector. The Kingston hydrologic basin covers an area of approximately 258 km 2 of which 111 km 2 underlain by an alluvium aquifer, 34 km 2 by a limestone aquifer and the remainder underlain by low permeability rocks with insignificant groundwater resources. Rapid development in recent years has led to an increased demand for water, which is increasingly being fulfilled by groundwater abstraction. A detailed knowledge of the water quality can enhance understanding of the hydrochemical system, promoting sustainable development and effective management of groundwater resources. To achieve this, a hydrochemical investigation was carried out in the Kingston Basin. Results showed that the water is Na-Ca-Cl-HCO 3 and Na-Ca-HCO 3 type with higher concentrations of nitrate, sodium and chloride as the leading causes of contamination in most of the wells. High concentrations of nitrate correlate with wells from areas of high population density and could be attributed to anthropogenic causes, mainly involving improper sewage treatment methodologies or leaking sewer lines. Jamaica, owing to its island nature, has the continuous problem of saline water intrusion, and this is reflected in the higher levels of chloride, sodium and conductivity in the water samples collected from the wells. The wells studied show higher concentrations of chloride ranging from around 10.2 mg/l in wells located approximately (4931.45 m) from the coast to around 234 mg/l in the well located near to the coast. The conductivity values also closely correlate with the chloride levels found in the wells.

Water Management in Latin America and the Caribbean

“…It separates unlike economic entities from close proximity to each other (Deaton, 1997). Factories and sewerage industries are required to be placed away from homes and administration offices to ensure proper segregation and delivery of water to the respective destinations (Mandal & Haiduk, 2011). This zoning was applied in Mexico to ensure concentration or clustering of similar business in the form of a dense set up.…”

Water Security and Services in the Caribbean

“…Generally, Jamaica has good water quality but apart from saline intrusion there are also problems with pollution from bauxite mining as well as from improper sewerage disposal. High nitrate levels have been recorded in abstraction from the Liguanea aquifer in the Kingston St Andrews area of Jamaica [22] and such contamination of groundwater makes it unusable, unless expensive treatment is provided. Nitrate levels of around 8 mg/L have been found in water supplies from Barbados' main supply aquifer and have been attributed to a combination of agricultural sources and inappropriate sewage disposal.…”

Analysis of the Hydrochemical Characteristics and Genesis of Bosten Lake, China

“…Among those who have used this method are Prasanna et al, who used the hydrochemical method to prove that groundwater and surface water around Perumal Lake in India are not affected by evaporation and precipitation, and the water bodies are not polluted except for a small part [12]. Mandal et al investigated the groundwater in the Kingston Basin using hydrochemical methods to determine its hydrochemical type, confirming the contribution of saline invasion [13]. Zhang et al studied the hydrochemistry of water bodies (Ili, Junggar and Erzis) in arid and semi-arid areas using the hydrochemical method, and it was proved that evaporative karst decomposition and carbonate weathering were the main causes of the hydrochemistry in these arid and semi-arid areas [14].…”