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Evaluating the impacts of on-site sanitation facilities and saltwater intrusion on shallow groundwater quality in peri-urban communities of Cape Coast, Ghana

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Abstract

Populations in peri-urban communities of Sub-Saharan Africa frequently depend on shallow aquifers and on-site sanitation facilities concurrently. Routinely, domestic wells end up too close to toilet facilities, risking groundwater contamination. For coastal communities, saltwater intrusion adds to the risk of groundwater contamination. This study assessed both risks in five peri-urban communities of Cape Coast, Ghana. Groundwater samples collected from 40 domestic wells were analyzed for physicochemical and microbial constituents. Multivariate statistics including hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) and principal component analysis (PCA) were used to classify and link contaminants to potential sources. Results indicate high enteric bacteria contamination in 98% of the samples, as well as high enrichment in physicochemical constituents, tied largely to impacts of on-site sanitation facilities. We found that wells located within 25 m of septic tanks/toilet facilities contained higher contaminant loads than those without such facilities within 25 m of their locations. Similarly, for wells located close to point sources, the closer the water table is below the land surface (within 2 m), the higher the contaminant loads. Lastly, using molar ratios of Cl−/HCO3− and Na+/Cl− with R-mode HCA, the study isolated a few wells, located within 2 km of the coastline, that are experiencing effects of saltwater intrusion. Overall, this study provides useful information for aiding groundwater quality mitigation policy, and the baseline data for aiding future investigations in the study area. It also has broader policy implications for other peri-urban settings throughout Ghana and the entire Sub-Saharan Africa.

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source and those with no point source within 25 m

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The authors collected and own the data used for this paper.

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Acknowledgements

The authors wish to acknowledge the following groups and individuals for their contributions to making this study a success: The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program for funding the fellowship visit of the lead author to the University of Cape Coast where the project idea was formed; Dr. Kwado Asante and his technicians, Daniel K. Amoah and Selorm Borbor, at the Ghana CSIR Water Research Institute, for assisting with data collection and the laboratory analyses, and lastly, the Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania for providing the equipment for in-situ data collection.

Funding

The Carnegie African Diaspora Fellowship Program only funded the fellowship visit of the lead author to the University of Cape Coast where the project idea was formed, while Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania provided funding for water quality testing.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Geography and Earth Science, Shippensburg University of Pennsylvania, 1871 Old Main Dr, Shippensburg, PA, 17257, USA

    Joseph T. Zume

  2. Department of Geography and Regional Planning, University of Cape Coast, Cape Coast, Ghana

    Simon Mariwah & Ebenezer N. K. Boateng

Authors
  1. Joseph T. Zume
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  2. Simon Mariwah
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  3. Ebenezer N. K. Boateng
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The first two authors contributed evenly to the statistical data analyses and writing of the manuscript, while the last author conducted all the GIS work and helped with proofreading.

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Correspondence to Joseph T. Zume.

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Zume, J.T., Mariwah, S. & Boateng, E.N.K. Evaluating the impacts of on-site sanitation facilities and saltwater intrusion on shallow groundwater quality in peri-urban communities of Cape Coast, Ghana. Environ Monit Assess 193, 264 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-021-09059-1

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