Conductivity as a predictor of a total cations and salinity in Ethiopian lakes and rivers: revisiting earlier models

Abstract

We used regression analyses of water samples from 18 lakes, nine rivers, and one spring in Ethiopia to (a) test the hypothesis that water bodies of relatively higher salinity ( K 25>1000 μS cm −1) have a different conductivity to salinity relationship than waters of lower salinity ( K 25 < 1000 μS cm −1), and (b) develop models to predict total cations and salinity from conductivity that can be used for Ethiopian waters and other African aquatic systems of similar chemical composition. We found no statistical difference in the bilogarithmic relationships (total cations vs. conductivity; salinity vs. conductivity) for waters of higher salinity ( K 25 > 1000 μS cm −1) and waters of lower salinity ( K 25 < 1000 μS cm −1). However, comparison among our models and models from the literature suggests that developing separate equations for low and high salinity water bodies has some merit. We believe that the equations developed in this study can be used for Ethiopian waters and other African waters within the range of conductivity in this study.