Abstract
Despite being a finite resource, both the quality and quantity of groundwater are under tremendous pressure due to rapid global changes, viz. population growth, land-use/land-cover changes (LULC), and climate change. The 6th Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) aims to “Ensure availability and sustainable management of water and sanitation for all”. One of the most significant dimensions of the SDG agenda is the emphasis on data and governance. However, the lack of good governance coupled with good observed data cannot ensure the achievement of SDG6. Therefore, this study strives to evaluate water quality status and hydrochemical processes governing it in the data-scarce Mokopane area of South Africa. Groundwater is the main source of fresh water supply for domestic usage, intensive agriculture, and mining activities in Mokopane. In this study, hydrogeochemical analysis of groundwater samples was employed to calculate the water quality index (WQI) and evaluate factors governing water quality evolution in the study area. Statistical and spatial analysis techniques were carried out to divide sampling sites into clusters and delineate principal factors responsible for determining water quality of the sampled groundwater. Results suggest that most of the physico-chemical parameters are within permissible limits for drinking water set by the World Health Organization (WHO), except for high fluoride in some samples. Na-HCO3 is the most abundant water type followed by Mg-HCO3, which indicates dominance of Na+, Mg2+, and HCO3±. Rock-water interaction is the prime factor responsible for fluoride enrichment in water. The alkaline nature of groundwater favors the release of exchangeable F− from minerals like muscovite. The WQI suggests that 80% of water samples fall into the good and excellent categories. Poor management of untreated domestic sewage and agricultural runoff is a main factor for the bad/very bad categories of water samples. As the area lacks any credible scientific/government work to report water quality and its management aspects, the findings of this study will definitely help both scientific communities and policy makers to do what is needed for sustainable water resource management in a timely manner.
Highlights
Groundwater is one of the most important finite natural resources for fresh water on Earth [1,2,3].Its importance has increased as people depend on it for agriculture and industry, with domestic use exponentially increasing [4,5,6,7,8]
This study focuses on groundwater quality assessment in Mokopane in South Africa using laboratory analysis of water quality parameters well-supported by interpretation through different statistical and GIS tools
The integrated approach using statistical analysis, speciation modeling, and graphical analysis was applied to examine the hydrochemical characteristics of groundwater quality in the Mokopane area, South Africa
Summary
Groundwater is one of the most important finite natural resources for fresh water on Earth [1,2,3].Its importance has increased as people depend on it for agriculture and industry, with domestic use exponentially increasing [4,5,6,7,8]. Groundwater quality is as important as its quantity, and it is essential to consider in depth the holistic approach towards its management [10]. The quality or physico-chemical characteristics of groundwater is highly dependent on anthropogenic activities like agriculture, mining, urban settlements, etc.; as well as natural processes like rock–water interaction, geological formations, and aerobic/anaerobic conditions of the aquifers [6,12,13,14]. Groundwater quality assessment can indicate its suitability for different purposes like drinking and irrigation. Weathering and leaching are the biggest drivers for high fluoride concentration in groundwater [21,22], whereas nitrate enrichment is mainly attributed to agricultural runoff with high usage of fertilizers and leaching from untreated sewerage systems [7,23]. Diligent monitoring is a vital part of groundwater quality management, and for maintenance of healthy aquatic ecosystems and human health [24,25,26]
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