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

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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.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Nuclear Chemistry and Environmental Research Centre, National Nuclear Research Institute, GAEC, Legon, Ghana

    Abass Gibrilla, Edward K. P. Bam, Dickson Adomako, Samuel Ganyaglo, Elikem K. Ahialey & Dzifa Denutsui

  2. Graduate School of Nuclear and Allied Sciences, Legon-Accra, Ghana

    Samuel Boakye Dampare

  3. Radiological and Medical Research Institute, GAEC, Box LG 80, Legon-Accra, Ghana

    Elom Achoribo

  4. Ghana Water Company Limited, AVRL, Weija, Accra, Ghana

    Hadisu Alhassan

  5. Ghana Water Company Limited, AVRL, Suame, Kumasi, Ghana

    Edna Tetteh

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  1. Abass Gibrilla
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  2. Edward K. P. Bam
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  4. Samuel Ganyaglo
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Correspondence to Abass Gibrilla.

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Gibrilla, A., Bam, E.K.P., Adomako, D. et al. Seasonal Evaluation of Raw, Treated and Distributed Water Quality from the Barekese Dam (River Offin) in the Ashanti Region of Ghana. Water Qual Expo Health 3, 157–174 (2011). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12403-011-0053-8

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