Assessment of the Impact of Solid Waste Dumpsites on Some Surface Water Systems in the Accra Metropolitan Area, Ghana

Abstract

Water samples from four water bodies that flow through some solid waste dump sites in the Accra metropolitan area of Ghana were analysed over a period of six months for Cd, Pb, Cu, Zn and Mn contents; coliform bacteria and helminth eggs. Other water quality parameters such as BOD, DO, suspended solids and turbidity were also assessed. Cd, Pb, Zn, Mn, and Cu were determined using flame atomic absorption spectrometry (FAAS). Faecal coliforms, total coliforms and helminth eggs were determined by the membrane filtration (MF) method. The water samples contain various levels of Cd, Pb and Mn; Zn and Cu levels were low and found to be below the detection levels of the instrument in most cases. Helminth egg counts in water samples were high; an indication that the water bodies were polluted with pathogens. It has been observed that the major sources of pollutants into the water bodies were organic waste as well as coliform bacteria derived from these waste dumps. The elevated levels of bacteria make the water bodies unsafe for both primary and secondary contacts

Assessment of the effect of solid waste dump site on surrounding soil and river water quality in Teppi town, Southwest Ethiopia

“…2.0 ml of concentrated HNO 3 was added to one of the bottles to bring the pH < 2 in order to prevent adsorptions of heavy metals on the bottom of sample containers. The acidified samples were used for elemental analysis and the non-acidified samples were used for biological analysis (APHA, 1992;Nartey et al, 2012;Hasan et al, 2016).…”

“…At laboratory level, nitrate, sulfate, and fluoride were measured by the spectrometric method and the concentration was estimated by UV visible spectrophotometer (Plain test 7500, Wag Tech Company, UK model) (WHO, 2004;Osei et al, 2011;Nartey et al, 2012).…”

“…This might be due to differences in altitude and the presence of the effluents emanated from the open dump site. Since water temperature affects the concentration of biological, physical, and chemical constituents of water, the relatively high temperatures recorded would speed up the decomposition of organic matter in the water (Nartey et al, 2012).…”

Assessment of Anthropogenic Impact of Surface Water Quality, South Africa

“…The quality of natural water resources can be impacted because of rapid economic development, urbanisation and anthropogenic activities (Masere et al, 2012). Factors such as run-offs from agricultural farmland, discharges from wastewater treatment plants and industrial effluent and illegal dumping of wastes into the water systems are among major sources of concern on quality of surface waters (Nartey et al, 2012).…”

Impact of Waste Dumpsites on the Physicochemical and Microbiological Qualities of Well Water Sources Located in Their Vicinities

“…According to Anilkumar et al [4], the qualities of ground water sources close to the municipal solid waste dumping sites in Kerala, India, were polluted by the waste leachate. Also, it was found that solid waste dumpsites in the vicinity of surface water bodies in Accra Ghana caused a marked elevation in the bacterial and helminth egg counts of the water body [5].…”