Assessment of Groundwater Quality in Southern Suburb of the Omdurman City of Sudan

Abstract

It is believed that the groundwater is a causal factor of several epidemiological diseases characterized people inhabited the southern suburb of Omdurman City since it is their only drinking water supply. In this study, 92 well water analyses were used to assess the quality of drinking groundwater in area of the study, mainly with respect to total dissolved solids (TDS), fluoride (F - ), total hardness (TH) and nitrate (NO 3 - ). In addition, electric conductivity (EC), pH and the major cations (Ca +2 , Mg +2 , Na + and K + ) and anions (Cl and HCO 3 ) also were investigated. Coliform bacteria, as an indicator of faecal contamination, were tested as well. All of the parameters determined were compared to the local, regional and internationl standards and guidelines. Results revealed that 27% of the wells having TDS levels in excess of the maximum recommended level of 1000 mg/l set by the Sudanese Standards & Metrology Organization (SSMO, 2002). Total hardness levels indicated that 72% of the samples classified as hard and very hard water. None of the wells studied found to have NO 3 - concentration above the maximum level of 50 mg/l set by SSMO whereas about 13% of the wells found having F concentration above the maximum level of 1.5 mg/l recommended by SSMO, indicating that, with the exception of NO 3 - , some wells showed drinking water analyses in excess of the standards set by the SSMO.