Impacts of Human Activities on the Quality of River Water: A Case Study of River Densu in Nsawam Adoagyiri of the Akwapim South District, Eastern Region of Ghana
Activities in and around River Densu Basin poses a threat to the quality of the river. This study, therefore, assesses the impact of human activities on the water quality of River Densu from 2010 to 2015 using the Water Quality Index (WQI) and Nemerow’s Pollution Index. Twenty-five (25) physi-cochemical parameters were used in measuring the water quality to establish the extent of deterioration resulting from human activities. The data for the assessment was secondary data (2010-2015) obtained from the Ghana Water Company Regional laboratory in Weija Accra Ghana. The results of the study indicate that twelve out of the 25 parameters were above the guidelines set by WHO. Among the physicochemical parameters analyzed, turbidity, ammonia (NH3), iron (Fe), phosphorus (P), and aluminium (Al) exceeded the permissible limit in all the study years. The concentration of copper (Cu) exceeded the WHO standard for all the years except in 2011. Manganese concentration was above the WHO standard for all the years except 2010 and 2013. Nitrite exceeded the WHO standard in only 2015. Among the parameters which exceeded the WHO standard for all the years, turbidity recorded the highest increase and in the percentage range of 380% - 6891.1%. According to the NPI results, five parameters namely turbidity, NH3, Fe, P, and Al were the principal pollutants from 2010 to 2015 whereas As, Mg, Zn, and Pb were found not to contribute to the pollution effect. The metal Cu did pollute the river in all the years except in 2011 whereas Mn didn’t pollute 2010 and 2013. The water quality index confirms that the water quality is fair between 2010 and 2011; marginal among 2012 to 2014 and poor in 2015. The water quality results indicate that the water quality is frequently threatened or impaired between 2010 to 2014 however, the quality of the river is almost always threatened or impaired in 2015. Generally, catchment activities such as illegal mining, farming along the banks of the river, and discharge of untreated waste are the main processes polluting the Densu river which is a serious threat to the health of inhabitants in villages which still use the water for cooking activities. The investigation recommends continuous monitoring of the above-mentioned activities which goes on in the catchment to arrest the deteriorating water quality.
Cite this paper
Duncan, A. E. , Oti, J. and Potakey, M. E. (2019). Impacts of Human Activities on the Quality of River Water: A Case Study of River Densu in Nsawam Adoagyiri of the Akwapim South District, Eastern Region of Ghana. Open Access Library Journal, 6, e5785. doi: http://dx.doi.org/10.4236/oalib.1105785.
Padma, V. and Namrata, P. (2001) DRWH Water Quality: A Literature Review. Centre for Rural Development and Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Vasudevan, P. and Pathak, D.N. (1999) DRWH Water Quality: A Literature Review. Centre for Rural Development & Technology, Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi.
Abbasi Maedeh, P., Nasrabadi, T., Wu, W. and Al Dianty, M. (2017) Evaluation of Oil Pollution Dispersion in an Unsaturated Sandy Soil Environment. Pollution, 3, 701-711.
Bukola, D., Zaid, A., Olalekan, E.I. and Falilu, A. (2015) Consequences of Anthropogenic Activities on Fish and the Aquatic Environment. Poultry, Fisheries & Wildlife Sciences, 3, Article ID: 1000138. https://doi.org/10.4172/2375-446X.1000138
Islam, M., Han, S. and Masunaga, S. (2014) Assessment of Trace Metal Contamination in Water and Sediment of Some Rivers in Bangladesh. Journal of Water and Environment Technology, 12, 109-121. https://doi.org/10.2965/jwet.2014.109
Srebotnjak, T., Carr, G., de Sherbinin, A. and Rickwood, C. (2012) A Global Water Quality Index and Hot-Deck Imputation of Missing Data. Ecological Indicators, 17, 108-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2011.04.023
Su, S., Xiao, R., Mi, X., Xu, X., Zhang, Z. and Wu, J. (2013) Spatial Determinants of Hazardous Chemicals in Surface Water of Qian Tang River, China. Ecological Indicators, 24, 375-381. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecolind.2012.07.015
Hillel, D. (1991) Out of the Earth, Civilization and the Life of the Soil. University of California Press, Los Angeles. https://doi.org/10.1097/00010694-199108000-00014
Fianko, J.R., Donkor, A., Lowor, S.T. and Yeboah, P.O. (2013) Pesticide Residues in Fish from the Densu River Basin in Ghana. International Journal of Biological and Chemical Sciences, 7, 1416-1426. https://doi.org/10.4314/ijbcs.v7i3.46
Duncan, A.E., de Vries, N. and Nyarko, K.B. (2018) Assessment of Heavy Metal Pollution in the Main Pra River and Its Tributaries in the Pra Basin of Ghana. Environmental Nanotechnology, Monitoring and Management, 10, 264-271. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.enmm.2018.06.003
Rathod, S.D., Mohsin, M. and Farooqui, M. (2011) Water Quality Index in and around Waluj Shendra Industrial Area Aurangabad. Asian Journal of Biochemical and Pharmaceutical Research, 1, 368-372.
Yang, C.Y. (1998) Calcium and Magnesium in Drinking Water and Risk of Death from Cerebrovascular Disease. Stroke, 29, 411-414. https://doi.org/10.1161/01.STR.29.2.411
Yang, C.Y. and Chiu, H.F. (1999) Calcium and Magnesium in Drinking Water and the Risk of Death from Hypertension. American Journal of Hypertension, 12, 894- 899. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0895-7061(99)00065-5
Camargo, J.A., Alonso, A. and Salamanca, A. (2005) Nitrate Toxicity to Aquatic Animals: A Review with New Data for Freshwater Invertebrates. Chemosphere, 58, 1255-1267. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.chemosphere.2004.10.044
LeChevallier, M.W., Norton, W.D. and Lee, R.G. (1991) Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. in Filtered Drinking Water Supplies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 57, 2617-2621.
LeChevallier, M.W., Norton, W.D. and Lee, R.G. (1991) Occurrence of Giardia and Cryptosporidium spp. in Surface Water Supplies. Applied and Environmental Microbiology, 57, 2610-2616.
Shuval, H.I. and Gruener, N. (2013) Infant Methemoglobinemia and Other Health Effects of Nitrates in Drinking Water. Proceedings of the Conference on Nitrogen as a Water Pollutant, Volume 8.4, 183-193. https://doi.org/10.1016/B978-1-4832-1344-6.50017-4
Zheng, Z., Li, Y., Guo, Y., Xu, Y., Liu, G. and Du, C. (2015) Landsat-Based Long- Term Monitoring of Total Suspended Matter Concentration Pattern Change in the Wet Season for Dongting Lake, China. Remote Sensing, 7, 13975-13999.
