Presence of arsenic, iron and manganese in groundwater within the gold-belt zone of Ghana

Research Article| November 01 2008 Presence of arsenic, iron and manganese in groundwater within the gold-belt zone of Ghana R. Buamah; R. Buamah 1Water Resources and Environmental Sanitation, Department of Civil Engineering, Kwame Nkrumah University of Science and Technology, Kumasi, Ghana Tel.: +31(0)152151715 or +233(0)51 60235 Fax: +31(0)15 2122921 or +233(0)51 60235; E-mail: r.buamah@unesco-ihe.org Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar B. Petrusevski; B. Petrusevski 2UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, P.O. Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar J. C. Schippers J. C. Schippers 2UNESCO-IHE Institute for Water Education, P.O. Box 3015, 2601 DA Delft, The Netherlands Search for other works by this author on: This Site PubMed Google Scholar Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua (2008) 57 (7): 519–529. https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2008.149 Article history Received: April 26 2007 Accepted: January 21 2008 Views Icon Views Article contents Figures & tables Video Audio Supplementary Data Share Icon Share Facebook Twitter LinkedIn MailTo Tools Icon Tools Cite Icon Cite Permissions Search Site Search Dropdown Menu toolbar search search input Search input auto suggest filter your search All ContentAll JournalsThis Journal Search Advanced Search Citation R. Buamah, B. Petrusevski, J. C. Schippers; Presence of arsenic, iron and manganese in groundwater within the gold-belt zone of Ghana. Journal of Water Supply: Research and Technology-Aqua 1 November 2008; 57 (7): 519–529. doi: https://doi.org/10.2166/aqua.2008.149 Download citation file: Ris (Zotero) Reference Manager EasyBib Bookends Mendeley Papers EndNote RefWorks BibTex About 45% of the total drinking water in Ghana is produced from groundwater. The presence of arsenic and manganese in groundwater above the recommended WHO drinking- water guidelines pose a threat to consumers' health. To provide additional information on groundwater quality in the gold-belt zone of Ghana, nearly 290 well water samples from three regions namely Ashanti, Western and Brong-Ahafo, were analyzed for the presence of arsenic, iron and manganese. It was found that 5–12% of sampled wells had arsenic levels exceeding the 10 μg l−1—WHO provisional guideline value. Communities within the studied area with high arsenic presence in their groundwater are located within the Birimian and Tarkwaian geological formations. Most of these arsenic contaminated wells (70%) have been in use for more than 15 years. Brong-Ahafo, Ashanti and Western regions had 5%, 25% and 50% of wells, respectively with iron levels above 0.3 mg l−1, the drinking-water guideline value commonly accepted for iron. Thirteen percent of wells in Ashanti and 29% in the Western region exceeded 0.4 mg l−1—the WHO health-based guideline value for manganese. arsenic, Ghana, gold-belt, groundwater, iron, manganese This content is only available as a PDF.