Abstract
Hydrochemical analyses of groundwater samples were used to establish the hydrochemistry of groundwater in the Densu River Basin. The groundwater was weakly acidic, moderately mineralized, fresh to brackish with conductivity ranging from of 96.6 μS cm − 1 in the North to 10,070 μS cm − 1 in the South. Densu River basin have special economic significance, representing the countries greatest hydrostructure with freshwater. Chemical constituents are generally low in the North and high in the South. The order of relative abundance of major cations in the groundwater is Na + > Ca2 + > Mg2 + > K + while that of anions is Cl − > HCO\(_{3}^{-} >\) SO\(_{4}^{2-} >\) NO\(_{3}^{-}\). Four main chemical water types were delineated in the Basin. These include Ca–Mg–HCO3, Mg–Ca–Cl, Na–Cl, and mixed waters in which neither a particular cation nor anion dominates. Silicate weathering and ion exchange are probably the main processes through which major ions enter the groundwater system. Anthropogenic activities were found to have greatly impacted negatively on the quality of the groundwater.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Akiti, T. T. (1980). Etude geochimique et isotopique de quelques aquifere du Ghana. PhD thesis, Universite de Paris-Sud.
Akiti, T. T. (1986). Environmental isotope study of groundwater in crystalline rocks of the Accra Plains. In 4th Working Meeting Isotopes in Nature. Leipzig. September 1986. Proceedings of an advisory group meeting. Vienna: IAEA.
Appelo, C. A. J., & Postma, D. (1999). Chemical analysis of groundwater. Geochemistry, groundwater and pollution. Rotterdam: Balkema.
Back, W., & Hanshaw, B. B. (1970). Comparison of chemical hydrogeology of the carbonate peninsulas of Florida and Yacatan. Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 10, 330–368. doi:10.1016/0022-1694(70)90222-2.
Barcelona, M., Gibb, J. P., Heldrich, J. A., & Garske, E. E. (1985). Practical guide for groundwater sampling. Illinois State Water Survey ISWS Contract Report 374.
Brady, P. V., & Walther, J. V. (1989). Control of silica dissolution rates in neutral and basic solutions at 250C. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 53, 2823–2830. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(89)90160-9.
Caritat, D. P., Danilova, S., Jaeger, O., Reimann, C., & Storro, G. (1998). Groundwater composition near the nickel-copper smelting industry on the Kolapeninsula, central Barents Region (NW Russia and NE Norway). Journal of Hydrology (Amsterdam), 208, 92–107. doi:10.1016/S0022-1694(98)00147-4.
Chebotarev, I. I. (1955). Metamorphism of natural waters in the crust of weathering. Geochimica Et Cosmochimica Acta, 8, 22–48, 137–170, 198–212.
Claasen, H. C. (1982). Guidelines and techniques for obtaining water samples that accurately represent the water quality for an aquifer. U.S. Geological Survey Open File Report 82–1024, 49 pp.
Dickson, K. B., & Benneh, G. (1980). A new geography of Ghana. London: Longmans Group Limited.
Edmunds, W. M., Guendouz, A. H., Momou, A., Moulla, A., Shand, P., & Zouari, K. (2003). Groundwater evolution in the continental intercalaire aquifer of Southern Algeria and Tunisia: Trace element and isotopic indicators. Journal of Applied Geochemistry, 18, 811–813.
Garrels, R. M., & MacKenzie, F. T. (1967). Origin of the chemical composition of some springs and lakes In Equilibrium concepts in natural water systems (pp. 222–242). Washington, D.C.: American Chemical Society.
Hounslow, A. W. (1995). Water quality data analysis and interpretation. New York: Lewis Publishers.
Jacobson, R. L., & Langmuir, D. (1970). The chemical history of some spring waters in carbonate rocks. Ground Water, 8, 5–9. doi:10.1111/j.1745-6584.1970.tb01302.x.
Jankowski, J., Acworth, R. I., & Shekarforoush, S. (1998). Reverse ion exchange in a deeply weathered porphyritic dacite fractured aquifer system, Yass, New South Wales, Australia. In G. B. Arehart, & J. R. Hulston (Eds.), Proc. 9th Int. symp. Water–Rock Interaction Taupo, New Zealand (pp. 243–246). Rotterdam: Balkema.
Kenoyer, G. J., & Bowser, C. J. (1992). Groundwater chemical evolution in a sandy silicate aquifer in Northern Wisconsin, 1 Patterns and rates of change. Water Resources Research, 28, 579–589. doi:10.1029/91WR02302.
Kesse, G. O. (1985). The mineral and rock resource of Ghana. Rottendam: Balkema.
Kortatsi, B. K. (2006). Hydrochemical characterization of groundwater in the Accra plains of Ghana. Environmental Geology, 50(3), 299–311. doi:10.1007/s00254-006-0206-4.
Kortatsi, B. K. (2007). Hydrochemical framework of groundwater in the Ankobra Basin, Ghana. Journal of Aquatic Geochemistry, 13, 41–74.
Langmuir, D. (1971). The geochemistry of some carbonate groundwaters in central Pennsylvania. Geochimica et Cosmochimica Acta, 35, 1023–1045. doi:10.1016/0016-7037(71)90019-6.
Langmuir, D. (1997). Aqueous Environmental Geochemistry. Prentice Hall Upper Saddle River, New Jersey
Masaki, H., Quinton, W. L., Pietroniro, A., & Gibson, J. J. (2004). Hydrologic functions of wetlands in a discontinuous permafrost basin indicated by isotopic and chemical signatures. Journal of Hydrology, 296, 81–98.
Nii Consult (1998). Information building block. Ghana water management study. Unpublished consultancy report for the Ministry of Works and Housing, Ghana, /DANIDA/World Bank.
Nilsen, R., & Grammeltvedt, G. (1993). Chemical weathering of ore and host rock in six Norwegian sulphide mines. Norges geologiske undersokelse report 93. 037, Ngu, Trondheim, Norway.
Parkhurst, D. L., & Appelo, C. A. J. (1999). Phreeqc for windows version 1. 4. 07. A hydrogeochemical transport model. U.S. Geological Survey Software.
Piper, A. M. (1944). A graphic procedure in the geochemical interpretation of water analyses (Vol. 25, pp. 914–923). Am. Geophysical Union. Trans.
Schoeller, H. (1959). Arid zone hydrology recent developments. UNESCO Rev. Reicardi, 12.
Smedley, P. L., Edmunds, W. M., West, J. M., Gardner, S. J., & Pelig-ba, K. B. (1995). Vulnerability of shallow groundwater quality due to natural geochemical environment. Health problems related to groundwater in Obuasi and Bolgatanga Areas, Ghana. ODA/BGS Technology Development and Research Program, Report 92/5.
Tardy, Y. (1971). Characterization of the principal weathering types by the geochemistry of waters from European and African crystalline massifs. Chemical Geology, 7, 253–271. doi:10.1016/0009-2541(71)90011-8.
Verhagen, B. T., Marobela, C., Sawula, G., & Kgarebe, B. (1995). Geohydrological and mineralization studies with environmental isotopes in a large Kalahari ranching development (pp. 91–95). IAEA–SM 366/41, Vienna.
World Health Organisation (WHO) (1993). Guidelines for drinking water quality. Revision of the 1984 guidelines. Final task group meeting. Geneva 21–25 September 1992W.
WRI (2003). Groundwater assessment: An element of integrated water resources management—the case study of Densu River Basin. WRI/CSIR, Accra.
WRI (2005). Report on borehole drilling and installation of drivers for groundwater monitoring in the Densu River Basin. WRI/CSIR, Accra.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Corresponding author
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Fianko, J.R., Adomako, D., Osae, S. et al. The hydrochemistry of groundwater in the Densu River Basin, Ghana. Environ Monit Assess 167, 663–674 (2010). https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1082-7
Received:
Accepted:
Published:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-009-1082-7