Abstract
Multivariate statistical methods including factor analysis (FA), cluster analysis (CA), and correlation analysis have been used to evaluate the spatial variations and the interpretation of a complex water quality data set of some parts of Oyo State in southwestern Nigeria. Thirty water samples were collected from different stations, and 16 parameters were determined. Correlation analysis shows that the relationship between the parameters with high character of ion was higher than that of the parameters with low character of ion and that the variation in relationship shows the complexity in groundwater quality and the effect of the interactions between rock and water. Regression analysis was used for the prediction of values of one variable using the knowledge of other variables, for which more data are available. FA shows five distinct factors, which explained 84.3% of the total variance in water quality data set. The five factors are anthropogenic, ion exchange, weathering/leaching, anthropogenic, and nitrogen, which explained 28, 23, 14.2, 10.0, and 6.9% of the total variance, respectively. Hierarchical cluster analysis grouped the parameters into three major clusters. This study shows the uses of multivariate statistical methods for the interpretation of complex data sets in the analysis of spatial variations in water quality. This would therefore enhance planning for future studies.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Aghazadeh N, Mogaddam AA (2010) Assessment of groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and agricultural uses in the Oshnavieh area, Northwest of Iran. J Environ Prot 1:30–40
Akintola JO (1986) Rainfall distribution in Nigeria: 1892-1983. Impact Publishers (Nig.) Ltd, Ibadan
American Public Health Association (1995) Standard methods for examination of water and waste water. American Public Health Association, American Water Works Association and Water Pollution Control Federation, Washington
Asif M, Waqas M, Muhammad WM, Farooq (2011) Application of multivariate statistical techniques for the characterization of groundwater quality of Lahore, Gujranwala and Sialkot (Pakistan). Pak J Anal Environ Chem 12(1 & 2):102–113
Beeson S, Jonesa CR (1988) The combined EMT/VES geophysical method for siting boreholes. Ground Water 26:54–63
Briz-Kishor BH, Murali G (1992) Factor analysis for revealing hydrochemical characteristics of a watershed. Environ Geol Water Sci 19(1):3–9
Conrad JE, Colvin C, Sililo O, Gorgens A, Weaver J, Reinhardt C (1999) Assessment of the impact of agricultural practices on the quality of groundwater resources in South Africa. Water Research Commission Report 641/1/99. www.wrc.org.za/
Das S, Nag SK (2015) Application of multivariate statistical analysis concepts for assessment of hydrogeochemistry of groundwater—a study in Suri I and II blocks of Birbhum District, West Bengal, India. Appl Water Sci 1–16. doi: 10.1007/s13201-015-0299-6
Domenico PA, Schwartz FW (1990) Physical and chemical hydrogeology. Wiley, New York, p 824
Farnham IM, Johannesson KH, Singh AK, Hodge VF, Stetzenbach KJ (2003) Factor analytical approaches for evaluating groundwater trace element chemistry data. Anal Chim Acta 490(1–2):123–138
Greenbaum D (1985) Review of remote sensing applications to groundwater exploration in basement and regolith. British Geological Survey, Nottingham, p 36
Guler C, Thyne GD (2004) Hydrologic and geologic factors controlling surface and groundwater chemistry in Indian Wells-Owens Valley area, southeastern California, USA. J Hydrol 285:177–198
Helena B, Pardo R, Vega M, Barrado E, Fernandez JM, Fernandez L (2000) Temporal evolution of groundwater composition in an alluvial aquifer (Pisuerga River, Spain) by principal component analysis. Water Res 34(3):807–816
Hem JD (1989) Study and interpretation of the chemical characteristics of natural water. US Geol Surv. Water-Supply Paper, p. 2254. https://pubs.usgs.gov/wsp/wsp2254/
Hossien MT (2004) Hydrochemical evaluation of groundwater in the Blue Nile Basin, eastern Sudan, using conventional and multivariate techniques. Hydrogeol J 12:144–158
Kaiser HF (1960) The application of electronic computers to factor analysis. Educ Psychol Meas 20:141–151
Khan TA (2011) Multivariate analysis of hydrochemical data of the groundwater in parts of Karwan–Sengar sub-basin, Central Ganga Basin, India. Global NEST J 13(3):229–236
Kim JH, Kim RH, Lee JH, Cheong TJ, Yum BW, Chang HW (2005) Multivariate statistical analysis to identify the major factors governing groundwater quality in the coastal area of Kimje, South Korea. Hydrol Process 19(6):1261–1276
Koh DC, Mayer B, Lee KS, Ko KS (2010) Land-use controls on sources and fate of nitrate in shallow groundwater of an agricultural area revealed by multiple environmental tracers. J Contam Hydrol 118:62–78
Kortatsi BK (2007) Hydrochemical framework of groundwater in the Ankobra Basin, Ghana. Aquat Geochem 13(1):41–74
Liu CW, Lin KH, Kuo YM (2003) Sci Total Environ 313:77
Love D, Hallbauer D, Amos A, Hranova R (2004) Factor analysis as a tool in groundwater quality management: two Southern African case studies. Phys Chem Earth 29(15–18):1135–1143
Mahlknecht J, Steinich B, Navarro de Leon I (2004) Groundwater chemistry and mass transfers in the independence aquifer, central Mexico, by using multivariate statistics and mass-balance models. Environ Geol 45:781–795. doi:10.1007/s00254-003-0938-3
Meng SX, Maynard JB (2001) Use of statistical analysis to formulate conceptual models of geochemical behavior: water chemical data from Butucatu aquifer in Sao Paulo State. Brazil J Hydrol 250:78–97
Milovanovic M (2007) Water quality assessment and determination of pollution sources along the Axios/Vardar River, Southeast Europe. Desalination 213:159–173
Minitab Inc. (2010) Minitab for windows, version 16.1.1. www.minitab.com
Nelson JD, Ward RD (1981) Statistical considerations and sampling techniques for ground—water quality monitoring. Ground Water 19(6):617–625
Olmez I, Beal JW, Vilaaume JF (1994) A new approach to understanding multiple-source groundwater contamination: factor analysis and chemical mass balances. Water Res 28:1095–1101
Ramesh Kumar A, Riyazuddin P (2008) Application of chemometric techniques in the assessment of groundwater pollution in a suburban area of Chennai city, India. Curr Sci 94(8):235–242
Reghunath R, Sreedhara Murthy TR, Raghavan BR (2002) The utility of multivariate statistical techniques in hydrogeochemical studies: an example from Karnataka India. Water Res 36:2437–2442
Routroy S, Harichandran R, Mohanty JK, Panda CR (2013) A statistical appraisal to hydrogeochemistry of fluoride contaminated ground water in Nayagarh District, Odisha. J Geol Soc India 81:350–360
Schiavo MA, Havser S, Gusimano G, Gatto L (2006) Geochemical characterization of groundwater and sub-marine discharge in the southeastern Sicily. Cont Shelf Res 26(7):826–834
Shrestha S, Kazama F (2006) Assessment of surface water quality using multivariate statistical techniques: a case study of the Fuji river basin, Japan. Environ Model Softw 22:464–475
Simeonov V, Einax JW, Stanimirova I, Kraft J (2002) Environmetric modeling and interpretation of river water monitoring data. Anal Bional Chem 374(5):898–905
Subramani T, Elango L, Dhamodarasamy SR (2005) Groundwater quality and its suitability for drinking and agricultural use in Chithar River Basin, Tamilnadu, India. Environ Geol 47:1099–1110
Suk HJ, Lee KK (1999) Characterization of a ground water hydrochemical system through multivariate analysis: clustering into ground water zones. Ground Water 37(3):358–366
Sunne Vazquez E, Sanchez Vila X, Carrera J (2005) Introductory review of specific factors influencing urban groundwater, an emerging branch of hydrogeology, with reference to Barcelona, Spain. Hydrogeol J 13:522–533
Vasanthavigar M, Srinivasamoorthy K, Vijayaragavan K, Rajiv Ganthi R, Chidambaram S, Sarama VS, Anandhan P, Manivannan R, Vasudevan S (2010) Application of water quality index for groundwater quality assessment: Thirumanimuttar Sub-Basin,Tamilnadu, India. Environ Monit Assess 171(1–4):595–609
WHO (2004) Guidelines for drinking-water quality, first addendum to 3rd ed. Vol. Recommendations. World Health Organization, Geneva
Wright EP (1992) The hydrogeology of crystalline basement aquifers in Africa. Geol Soc Lond Spec Publ 66:1–27
Wunderlin DA, Diaz MDP, Ame MV, Pesce SF, Hued AC, Bistoni MD (2001) Pattern recognition techniques for the evaluation of spatial and temporal variations in water quality. A case study: Suquia River Basin (Cordoba-Argentina). Water Res 35(12):2881–2894. doi:10.1016/S0043-1354(00)00592-3
Yidana SM (2010) Groundwater classification using multivariate statistical methods: Southern Ghana. J Afr Earth Sci 57:455–469
Yidana SM, Ophori D, Banoeng-Yakubo B (2008a) A multivariate statistical analysis surface water chemistry—the Ankobra Basin, Ghana. Environ Manag 86:80–87
Yidana SM, Ophori D, Banoeng-Yakubo B (2008b) Hydrochemical evaluation of the Volta Basin: the Afram Plains area. J Environ Manag 88:697–707
Zeng X, Rasmussen TC (2005) Multivariate statistical characterization of water quality in Lake Lanier, Georgia, USA. J Environ Qual 34:1980–1991
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fatoba, J.O., Sanuade, O.A., Hammed, O.S. et al. The use of multivariate statistical analysis in the assessment of groundwater hydrochemistry in some parts of southwestern Nigeria. Arab J Geosci 10, 328 (2017). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3125-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s12517-017-3125-7