Abstract
Groundwater is a valuable natural resource whose quality is threatened by natural and man-made pollutants. This study aims to perform a hydrochemical characterization of groundwater resources used for domestic and irrigational activities in Melong (Littoral Cameroon). Thus, 26 subsurface water samples were collected in the dry season (six sampling points) and rainy season (seven sampling points) of the years 2019 and 2020. Physical water quality parameters were measured on the field while ionic constituents and bacteriological parameters were determined in the laboratory. The main findings revealed that the pH of the water samples was slightly acidic to neutral, fluctuating from 5.3 to 7.1; electrical conductivity ranged from 0.03 to 0.33 µS/cm and turbidity varied from 0.5 to 33.7 NTU revealing that the water is weakly mineralized. The ionic constituents were such that Ca2+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Na+ for cationic constituents while anions appeared as HCO3-> NO3- >Cl- > PO43-. The major ions fell within the acceptable limits of World Health Organisation (WHO) drinking water standards. Bacteria indicators of faecal pollution were identified in all the water samples, including Enterobacteria, Escherichia coli, Streptococcus, Salmonella, Shigella, Staphylococcus and Vibrio. This indicates an exposure of water sources to unhygienic conditions that may place consumers at risk of water-borne diseases, hence necessitating basic treatment of the water before consumption. Key words: Hydrochemistry, Melong, groundwater quality, bacteriological analysis, Littoral Cameroon.
Highlights
Water, an essential constituent of life, is vulnerable to tremendous stress as a result of rapid urbanization, agricultural innovations and industrialization (Sudha, 2007; Yıldız, 2017; Olalekan et al, 2018; Raimi et al, 2019)
The pH values revealed that only 16.67% of the studied groundwater samples fell in permissible limits of 6.5 to 8.0 for domestic use as prescribed by World Health Organisation (WHO) (2017) while 83.33% fell outside the limits
Turbidity values fluctuated from 33.7 NTU at MW30 in the dry season to 0.5 NTU at MS46 in the rainy season (Figure 2c). 15.38% of the analysed water samples recorded turbidity values above the recommended value (5 NTU) of WHO (2017)
Summary
An essential constituent of life, is vulnerable to tremendous stress as a result of rapid urbanization, agricultural innovations and industrialization (Sudha, 2007; Yıldız, 2017; Olalekan et al, 2018; Raimi et al, 2019). Mufur et al 271 resources for human use (Annapoorna and Janardhana, 2015; Olalekan et al, 2020) It is one of the most prominent and reliable sources of fresh water all over the world, owing to its high quality and potential availability (Kemper, 2004; Nickson et al, 2005; Sujay and Paresh, 2015; Raimi and Sabinus, 2017; Morufu and Clinton, 2017). The issue of sustainability and maintenance of drinking water sources is a major challenge to developing countries, including Cameroon where groundwater is currently the main reserve for domestic water supply and irrigation, amongst other uses. Related studies have been carried out in several other areas of Cameroon in the past years including, among others, the works of Katte et al (2003) reporting the quality of water for domestic activity in Dschang, Ako et al (2011) documenting nitrate contamination in the Banana Plain, Tita et al (2013) highlighting microbial pollution in the Mezam River basin, Akoachere and Ngwesse (2017) unfolding the occurrence of water borne diseases in Kumba while Alakeh et al (2017) carried out spring water assessment in Awing village
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