Groundwater Monitoring in the Gneisso-Basaltic Fractured Rock Aquiferous Formations of Kumba, Southwest Region Cameroon: Seasonal Variations in the Aqueous Geochemistry and Water Quality
The objective was to determine and monitor seasonal changes during four hydrological seasons: Wet season (September), Wetdry season (December), Dry season (March) and Drywet season (June) in the groundwater aqueous geochemistry and its domestic-agro-industrial quality using physicochemical parameters and hydrogeochemical tools: Temperature, Electrical Conductivity EC, pH, Total dissolved solids TDS, Ionic ratios, Gibbs diagrams, Piper diagrams Durov diagrams, total hardness HT, Water quality index WQI, Sodium adsorption ratio SAR, Percent Sodium %Na, Kelly’s Ratio KR, permeability index PI, Magnesium adsorption ratio MAR, Residual sodium carbonate RSC and Wilcox diagram. Field physicochemical parameters ranged from: Wet season; pH 3.9 - 6.9; Temperature, 23.3°C - 29.1°C; EC, 10 - 1900 μS/cm; TDS, 6.7 - 1273 mg/L; Wetdry, pH, 5.7 - 11.7; Temperature, 23.6°C - 28.3°C; EC, 1 - 1099 μS/cm, TDS, 0.67 - 736.33 mg/L; Dry pH, 5.7 - 13.1; Temperature, 26.3°C - 30.2°C; EC, 12 - 770 μS/cm, TDS, 8.04 - 515.9 mg/L and Drywet, pH, 4 - 7.4; Temperature, 25.8°C - 30.7°C; EC, 10 - 1220 μS/cm, TDS, 6.7 - 817.4 mg/L. Seventy-two groundwater samples, 18 per season were analysed. All ionic concentrations fell below acceptable World Health Organization guidelines in all seasons. The sequence of abundance of major ions are; Wet, Ca+ > Mg2+ > Na+ = K+ > NH4+, HCO3? > Cl? > NO3? > SO42? > HPO42?; Wetdry Ca+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > NH4+, HCO3? > Cl? > SO42? > NO3? > HPO42?; Dry Ca+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Na+ > NH4+, HCO3? > Cl?> NO3? > SO42? > HPO42?; Drywet NH4+ > Ca+ > K+ > Mg2+ > Na+; Cl? > HCO3? > NO3? > SO42? > HPO42?. Groundwater ionic content was due to rock weathering and ion exchange reactions. CaSO4 is the dominant water type in Wet and Wetdry seasons; followed by CaHCO3, Na + K-Cl Wet, CaSO4 and
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