Abstract
According to a recent report by World Health Organization, the countries which still have limited access to water for drinking purposes are mainly those in the Sub-Saharan region. (Potential) water sources for drinking needs may contain different contaminants. In this context, the current study consists in an overview of the quality of surface water and groundwater in the Republic of South Africa (RSA) and Mozambique (MZ) and provides the variability ranges of the concentrations of the main pollutants in the two countries. Chemical and physical characteristics and concentrations of macropollutants, inorganic compounds (metals) and selected microorganisms were collected for surface water and groundwater and compared with the standards for drinking water set in the two countries. It was found that in surface water, microorganisms were always at very high concentrations. In addition, nickel (in RSA) and boron and chlorine (in MZ) were the most critical compounds. It emerged that in groundwater, arsenic, lead and chlorine (in RSA) and boron, sodium and chlorine (in MZ) were the main critical pollutants. Adequate treatments in the construction of new drinking water plants in rural areas should be selected on the basis of these most critical compounds and their observed variability over time.
Highlights
According to the recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, the countries which still have limited access to water for drinking purposes are mainly those in the Sub-Saharan region [1]
This is strictly related to the fact that in Republic of South Africa (RSA), mine activities represent one of the most important economic activities for the country, and different investigations were carried out to monitor their occurrence in surface water receiving mine drainage during mine exercise
A higher number of compounds were investigated in groundwater in RSA with respect to surface water, and in this case, most data refer to inorganic chemicals (Figures 6 and 7)
Summary
According to the recent World Health Organization (WHO) report, the countries which still have limited access to water for drinking purposes are mainly those in the Sub-Saharan region [1]. Pollution of source water may be due to many causes, among them a continuous release of untreated wastewater (generated within the rural communities), land runoff and acid mine drainage. This paper deals with the quality of surface and groundwater in rural areas in the Republic of. South Africa (RSA) and Mozambique (MZ) and its variability along the year (mainly due to temperature variations, rainfall and consequent land runoff) in case of their withdrawal for drinking purposes. The aims of this study are (i) to identify the most critical pollutants in surface and groundwater and relate them to their potential origin; and (ii) to show the importance of the need of interventions both in sanitation and potabilization fields. Proceedings 2020, 48, 3 surface water bodies and groundwater, considered potential sources for drinking purposes for small communities in rural and peri-urban areas
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