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Assessment of natural and anthropogenic influences on regional groundwater chemistry in a highly industrialized and urbanized region: a case study of the Vaal River Basin, South Africa

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Abstract

The Vaal River Basin is an economically significant area situated in the interior of South Africa (SA), where mining, industrial, domestic and agricultural activities are very intense. The purpose of the study was to assess the influence of geology and anthropogenic activities on groundwater chemistry, and identify the predominant hydrochemical processes in the basin. Data from seventy groundwater sites were retrieved from the national database, and attention was paid to fifteen water quality parameters. Groundwater samples were clustered into seven hydrochemically distinct groups using Hierarchical Cluster Analysis (HCA), and three samples treated independently. A Piper plot revealed two major water types, Ca–Mg–HCO3 and Ca–Mg–SO4-Cl, which were linked to dissolution of the underlying geology and mine pollution. The Ca + Mg vs HCO3 + SO4 plot indicated that reverse ion exchange is an active process than cation exchange in the area. Principal component analysis (PCA) was used to identify the main natural and anthropogenic processes causing variation in groundwater chemistry. Four principal components were extracted using PCA that explains 82% of the total variance in the chemical parameters. The PCA results can be categorized by four components: (1) evaporites and silicates weathering enrichment of Na, K, Cl, SO4 and F, and anthropogenic Cl; (2) dissolution of dolomite, limestone and gypsum; (3) agricultural fertilizers (4) wastewater treatment. This study reveals that both natural and anthropogenic activities are the cause of groundwater variation in the basin.

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Acknowledgements

We thank the Council for Geoscience for providing geological maps and files. The Department of water and sanitation are also acknowledged for making hydrochemical data available for use in this study. The authors highly appreciate and acknowledge Prof. Gunter Dӧrhӧfer, editor-in-Chief, Environmental Earth Sciences, for providing fruitful and constructive suggestions for improving the manuscript in its present form.

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  1. University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg, South Africa

    Khuliso Masindi & Tamiru Abiye

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  1. Khuliso Masindi
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Correspondence to Khuliso Masindi.

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Masindi, K., Abiye, T. Assessment of natural and anthropogenic influences on regional groundwater chemistry in a highly industrialized and urbanized region: a case study of the Vaal River Basin, South Africa. Environ Earth Sci 77, 722 (2018). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12665-018-7907-3

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