Groundwater pollution assessment in a coastal aquifer in Cape Coast, Ghana
George Lutterodt, Michael Miyittah, Bright Addy, Ebenezer D. O. Ansa, Mohammed Takase
Abstract
5 mg/L). Average chloride concentration, 360.5 mg/L (range: 46 mg/L to 844 mg/L) and average electrical conductivity value of 1.5 mS/cm (range: 213 μS/cm to 2.7 mS/cm) were both higher than WHO recommended limits. Acidic conditions (pH < 6.5) were observed in water samples, indicating mineralisation of the aquifer. The high EC values and chloride content in groundwater were attributable to dry atmospheric aerosol deposition and possible mineral dissolution in the aquifer. Bacteria re-growth experiment results indicate that second-order polynomial distribution best describes bacteria inactivation rates in the absence of antagonist predators in our work. Extrapolation of time for complete inactivation of bacteria under groundwater environment ranged from 0.1 to 4 years indicating bacteria can persist in aquifers for long period of time. It was concluded that all the wells are at risk of pollution and polluted with faecal matter and atmospheric aerosols.