Abstract
The problem of limited water supply in the Vhembe District (Limpopo Province, South Africa) is exacerbated by a preponderance of dissolved salts, which cause disagreeable taste and odour in the water as reported by the communities using this water for drinking. The water treatment plant that supplies the treated water to the communities in the District sources this raw water from the Nandoni Dam at the Luvuvhu river catchment. There are no scientific studies that have been reported in the literature that focused on determining the levels of water salinity from various water sources in the municipalities of the District. Water samples from various sites across the Nandoni Dam, a primary source of domestic water supply in the region, were collected through each season over a period of twelve months in order to ascertain the concentrations of dissolved salts in the dam. Onsite analyses of the water samples were conducted using the YSI ProDSS multimeter, while the laboratory water analyses were conducted using the spectroquant and atomic absorption spectrometers. Although salinity tests seem to indicate that the water sampled across most of the Nandoni Dam is brackish during all seasons of the year with the highest being 750 mg/L, water samples from the dam mid-outlet and the treatment plant are slightly below the World Health Organization (WHO) brackish water bracket of 500 mg/L with unfavourable taste for drinking. Results from this study indicate that the water sourced from the Nandoni Dam is not suitable for human consumption and therefore requires integrated water resource management, as well as robust and cost-effective water desalination treatment.
Highlights
The quality of available water resources in rural settlements in most provinces of South Africa is poor [1,2]
Water supplied by a local water treatment plant to about fifty-five villages in the Thulamela Local Municipality of the Vhembe District Municipality, Limpopo Province is reported to be salty there is no scientific information provided [3]
The physicochemical properties of the water samples such as conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, temperature, and pH were measured at the field where the samples were collected
Summary
The quality of available water resources in rural settlements in most provinces of South Africa is poor [1,2]. Thewater watersalinity salinityis be brackish water since thethe salty taste ofof the water was toto some extent is the amount of the dissolved salts in the body of water. Good estimates of the salinity of the water to be purified should be established in order to define the the brackish water is an unfavourable resource, it still provides a secondary or alternative source of water that is less costly for purification compared to seawater [24]. The water salinity was monitored for a period of twelve months to ascertain the variability induced by different factors such as rainfalls between the four seasons of the year (spring, summer, autumn and winter) This dam is a source of water that is treated by the municipal treatment plant which is distributed to Thulamela Local. Municipality and other nearby municipalities in Vhembe District for domestic purposes
Sign-in/Register to view highlights & summary Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a callDisclaimer: All third-party content on this website/platform is and will remain the property of their respective owners and is provided on "as is" basis without any warranties, express or implied. Use of third-party content does not indicate any affiliation, sponsorship with or endorsement by them. Any references to third-party content is to identify the corresponding services and shall be considered fair use under The CopyrightLaw.
