Seasonal Evaluation of Raw, Treated and Distributed Water Quality from the Barekese Dam (River Offin) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana

Abstract

Evaluation of seasonal variations in river water (raw), treated and distributed water quality is vital for assessing spatial and temporal changes in the quality of water delivered to consumers. In this study, raw water, treated and distributed water collected from 27 sampling points in the dry and rainy seasons were analyzed for 21 physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters from the Barekese dam. The results showed a seasonal trend in the physical, chemical and coliform bacteria with the rainy season having higher values of the measured parameters. Langelier Saturation Index (LSI) and two well documented Water Quality Index models, Canadian Council of Ministers of Environment (CCME) and Tiwari and Mishra (Indian J. Environ. Prot. 5:276-279, 1985) were used as a complementary tool to assess the overall suitability of the water for industrial and drinking purposes. The LSI indicated that all the samples are under saturated, and thereby, suitable for domestic and industrial purposes. The CCME and TM models showed that the raw water in both seasons was unsuitable for drinking without any form of treatment, while the treated water in both seasons was of 'excellent' quality. The distributed water in both seasons showed a wide variation in the quality rating in the two models. The CCME model rated 52%, 30% and 17% of the distributed water as "excellent", "very good" and "good", respectively, while the TM model rated 74% of the distributed water as "excellent" and 26% as "very good" in the dry season. In the rainy season, the CCME rated 43% of the distributed water as "excellent", 48% as "very good" and 8% as "good" while the TM model rated 87% of the distributed water as "excellent" and 13% as "good". The CCME and TM models showed comparable results, even though they were developed for surface water and groundwater, respectively. The calculated efficiency (E%) of the treatment process using the CCME WQI was found to be 52% and 57%, while the average distributed water quality deterioration (D%) was 2.79% and 2.70% for the dry and rainy season, respectively. The study also showed great improvement in the water quality after the treatment process, however, maintenance of free chlorine residual was found to be insufficient to control coliform occurrences in the distribution system. Furthermore, the distribution line, especially the service lines, impacted negatively on the water quality resulting in high coliform bacteria. This is partly due to illegal connections, leakages or pipe burst along gutters or drainage systems and low pressure leading to back sucking. The study has also shown a high rise in nutrients load in the raw and distributed water. This phenomenon is likely to cause algae growth in the dam and the distribution networks, thereby increasing the risk of coliform bacteria and production cost.

Assessment of surface water quality status of the Aby Lagoon System in the Western Region of Ghana

“…The index gives a single value that represents the overall suitability of water quality for a specific intended purpose such as drinking, irrigation or aquatic life protection. Several indices such as the Solway Index and River Ganga Index among several others have been successfully developed and applied for the assessment of water quality ( Darko et al., 2013 ; Gibrilla et al., 2011 ; Tirkey et al., 2013 ; Zeid et al., 2017 ). However, the WQI developed by the Canadian Council for Ministers of the Environment (CCME WQI) has increasingly become the most commonly used because it is not only relatively more robust but also flexible in adapting to various water quality parameters and guidelines ( CCME, 2001 ).…”

Physicochemical and Microbiological Quality of Shallow Groundwater in Lomé, Togo

“…tests (Gibrilla et al, 2011;Keesari et al, 2015). Therefore, testing was done for groups of thermotolerant coliforms and sulfite-reducing anaerobes that discriminate fecal contamination and total mesophilic flora to estimate sanitation and hygiene failure conditions around sampling points.…”

“…The consideration of the impact of the seasonal rainfall with hydrogeological conditions as well as the risk factors associated with each sampling point (the type of boreholes, boreholes drilling technic, borehole construction and maintenance, boreholes lining, proximity to and density of contamination sources, boreholes depth, static level, etc.) could provide evidence on the specific sources and mechanisms of groundwater contamination (Gibrilla et al, 2011;Llopis-González et al, 2014).…”

“…The primary water security and public health concerns in urban sub-Saharan Africa, particularly in the coastal cities of the Gulf of Guinea, are the chemical and microbial contaminations of shallow groundwater evidenced by high contents of nitrate, heavy metals, fecal coliforms, and fecal Streptococci in boreholes and dug wells water samples (Erah, Akujieze, & Oteze, 2002;Takem et al, 2010;Gibrilla et al, 2011;Mande et al, 2012;Totin et al, 2013;Affum et al, 2015;Soncy et al, 2015). In-situ sanitation facilities, mainly pit latrines and septic tanks, are considered the dominant cause of microbiological contamination and a significant cause of nutrient loading to water sources (Lapworth et al, 2017).…”

Water Treatment Using Natural Coagulant and Electrocoagulation Process: A Comparison Study

“…In addition to this, the world's water resources could also be contaminated due to a variety of natural and man-made factors [7,8]. Urbanization [9][10][11][12], industrialization [10,11,13,14], agricultural, [13][14][15] surface runo , and sediment transport [2] are some of the factors considered in the deterioration of the parameters of water quality.…”