An evaluation of groundwater vulnerability to pollution in Ga-segonyana municipality area, Kuruman, Northern Cape in South Africa

Abstract

Ground water is an important source of water to any economy. However, ground water can be vulnerable to a series of factors and activities both on and within the surface of the earth. This study explored the vulnerability of the groundwater to pollution in the Ga-Sengonyana municipality area of the Northern Cape Province. The study adopted an exploratory research design that includes both quantitative and qualitative research approaches. The groundwater vulnerability assessment conducted using the DRASTIC index revealed a DRASTIC score of 140, implying that there is moderate to high vulnerability of aquifers in the Ga-Sengonyana district municipality. Both natural and anthropegenic factors contribute to ground water pollution in the study area. The unconsolidated material of sand, embedded dolomite and limestone that forms the vadose zone (unsaturated zone) and aquifer media contributed to high vulnerability of underground water to pollutants. The aquifer in the municipality area is highly vulnerable to both point and diffuse source of pollutants emanating from different land-use systems. It is therefore necessary for disaster management agencies and local municipality authorities to plan carefully on different land-uses and eliminate activities that provides the source of pollutants such as pit latrines and sewage leakages.