Hydrochemical and isotopic evidence of recharge,apparent age,and flow direction of groundwater in Mayo Tsanaga River Basin,Cameroon: bearings on contamination

Unplanned exploitation of groundwater constitutes emerging water-related threats to MayoTsanaga River Basin. Shallow groundwater from crystalline and detrital sediment aquifers, together with rain, dams, springs, and rivers were chemically and isotopically investigated to appraise its evolution, recharge source and mechanisms, flow direction, and age which were used to evaluate the groundwater susceptibility to contamination and the basin’s stage of salinization. The groundwater which is Ca–Na–HCO₃ type is a chemically evolved equivalent of surface waters and rain water with Ca–Mg–Cl–SO₄ chemistry. The monsoon rain recharged the groundwater preferentially at an average rate of 74 mm/year, while surface waters recharge upon evaporation. Altitude effect of rain and springs show a similar variation of −0.4‰ for δ¹⁸O/100 m, but the springs which were recharged at 452, 679, and 773 m asl show enrichment of δ¹⁸O through evaporation by 0.8‰ corresponding to 3% of water loss during recharge. The groundwater which shows both local and regional flow regimes gets older towards the basins` margin with coeval enrichment in F⁻ and depletion in NO₃ ⁻. Incidentally, younger groundwaters are susceptible to anthropogenic contamination and older groundwaters are sinks of lithologenic fluoride. The basins salinization is still at an early stage.     

Pollution characteristics of alluvial groundwater from springs and bore wells in semi-urban informal settlements of Douala,Cameroon, Western Africa

Alluvial groundwater from springs and bore wells, used as the major source of water for drinking and other domestic purposes in the semi-urban informal settlements of Douala, Cameroon, has been studied. Six representative springs, four bore wells and two hand dug wells, situated in the Phanerozoic basin were selected, from which a total of 72 water samples were analyzed for chemical characteristics and indicators of bacterial contamination. The results showed anthropogenic pollution, evident from high concentrations of organic (up to 94.3 mg NO₃/l nitrate) fecal coliform and fecal streptococcus detected in the springs and bore wells (with values of 2,311 and 1,500 cfu/100 ml, respectively). The pH ranged from 3.4–6.5, which is lower than the guidelines for drinking water. Groundwater samples from background upstream inland natural areas W1 and W2 had low electrical conductivity (54.2 and 74.8 μs/cm, respectively) and major ions, which increased downstream in the valleys, peaking in the more densely settled areas. An acceptable concentration of solutes was observed for the bore wells except for a single sample from B4. The bore-well sample B4 registered the highest microbial content (2,130 cfu/100 ml) and nitrate level(26 mg/l), which could be due to the bottom of this well lying just at or close to the zone of mixing between sewage and groundwater. The absence of a direct correlation between nitrate and fecal matter suggests multiple sources of contamination. The shallow alluvial aquifer consists of unconsolidated deposits of gravel, sand, silt and clay. The springs, therefore, receive direct recharge from the ground surface with limited contaminant attenuation, which leads to water quality deterioration, especially during the rainy season. This shows the urgent need to put basic service infrastructures in place. The local population should be sensitized to the importance of chlorinating and boiling drinking water to prevent health hazards.     

Geologic factors controlling groundwater chemistry in the coastal aquifer system of Douala/Cameroon: implication for groundwater system functioning

Douala city, located in the littoral province of Cameroon, receives abundant rainfall quantities due to its geographical position in the Gulf of Guinea and bears considerable surface water and groundwater resources. Due to socioeconomic development and rapid demographic growth in the city and its consequences of unplanned urbanization and improper sanitation system, these water resources are poorly protected and managed. Streams in the Wouri watershed receive large amounts of wastewater discharge, and hundreds of boreholes have been drilled into the aquifer system without any management plan. A detailed hydrodynamic and hydrogeochemistry study in Douala town and its environs was conducted to get a better insight into the groundwater system functioning in order to provide information for the sustainable management and protection of the groundwater resource. Two field campaigns were carried out with 187 samples collected and analyzed for major ions, stable isotopes (¹⁸O, ²H), and tritium ³H. The results of the sampling have shown that the weathering of silicate minerals is the dominant geochemical process affecting groundwater chemistry in this system. However, acid rainfall in the humid climate has also caused carbonate mineral dissolution, amorphous silica deposition, and ion exchange reactions to occur in aquifers in the region. The various water types identified were categorized into four major clusters C1 to C4, based on the major ion composition and the local hydrogeological conditions. Environmental isotope data reveal that modern-to-submodern waters occur in the phreatic Quaternary/Mio-Pliocene and Oligocene/Upper Eocene aquifers, respectively. These results corroborate with the conceptual model built where modern groundwater types indicated silicate mineral weathering and calcite dissolution (C1 and C2), whereas submodern groundwater mostly showed silica deposition, ion exchange, and, to a lesser extent, carbonate mineral dissolution (C3 and C4). This improved understanding of the aquifer system functioning is essential to provide a reasonable basis for effective control measures and sustainable water management.     

Downstream of downtown: urban wastewater as groundwater recharge

Wastewater infiltration is often a major component of overall recharge to aquifers around urban areas, especially in more arid climates. Despite this, such recharge still represents only an incidental (or even accidental) byproduct of various current practices of sewage effluent handling and wastewater reuse. This topic is reviewed through reference to certain areas of detailed field research, with pragmatic approaches being identified to reduce the groundwater pollution hazard of these practices whilst attempting to retain their groundwater resource benefit. Since urban sewage effluent is probably the only natural resource whose global availability is steadily increasing, the socioeconomic importance of this topic for rapidly developing urban centres in the more arid parts of Asia, Africa, Latin America and the Middle East will be apparent.

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Resumen La infiltración de aguas residuales es a menudo un componente principal de la recarga total en acuíferos ubicados en torno a zonas urbanas, especialmente en los climas más áridos. A pesar de ello, dicho componente todavía es una consecuencia secundaria (o incluso accidental) de diversas prácticas asociadas con la manipulación de las aguas residuales y con la reutilitzación de aguas depuradas. Este tema se revisa mediante referencias a ciertas áreas en las que existen investigación detallada de campo, identificando enfoques pragmáticos con el fin de reducir el riesgo de contaminación de las aguas subterráneas por tales prácticas, a la vez tratando de conservar los beneficios para los recursos del acuífero. Dado que los efluentes de aguas residuales urbanas son probablemente la única fuente natural cuya disponibilidad global se halla en del aumento, la importancia socioeconómica de este tema será evidente para los centros urbanos de rápido desarrollo en Asia, Latinoamérica y Oriente Medio.

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Résumé Linfiltration des eaux usées est souvent la composante essentielle de toute la recharge des aquifères des zones urbaines, particulièrement sous les climats les plus arides. Malgré cela, une telle recharge ne constitue encore quun sous-produit incident, ou même accidentel, de pratiques courantes variées du traitement de rejets dégouts et de réutilisation deaux usées. Ce sujet est passé en revue en se référant à certaines régions étudiées en détail, par des approches pragmatiques reconnues pour permettre de réduire les risques de pollution des nappes dues à ces pratiques tout en permettant den tirer profit pour leur ressource en eau souterraine. Puisque les effluents dégouts urbains sont probablement la seule « ressource naturelle » dont la disponibilité globale va croissant constamment, limportance socio-économique de ce sujet est évidente pour les centres urbains à développement rapide de lAsie, de lAfrique, de lAmérique latine et du Moyen-Orient.

     

人工回灌对地下水年龄分布规律的影响

地下水可更新能力是评价地下水开发可持续性的关键指标,可更新能力可以用地下水年龄来定量表达。在人类活动影响下,地下水的实际更新状况已与自然条件下截然不同。基于台兰河流域地下水库建设和人工回灌工作现状,通过物理试验和数值模拟相结合的方法分别研究了入渗池位置,回灌强度和包气带厚度对地下水年龄分布规律的影响。结果表明:人工回灌使地下水年龄整体变年轻;入渗池位置和回灌强度的改变对地下水年龄分布的影响显著;包气带厚度的增大使回灌水滞留时间延长,导致地下水年龄增大,该研究可为合理评价区域地下水可更新能力提供技术指导。     

Estimation of groundwater recharge of shallow aquifer on humid environment in Yaounde,Cameroon using hybrid water-fluctuation and hydrochemistry methods

A study of environmental chloride and groundwater balance has been carried out in order to estimate their relative value for measuring average groundwater recharge under a humid climatic environment with a relatively shallow water table. The hybrid water fluctuation method allowed the split of the hydrologic year into two seasons of recharge (wet season) and no recharge (dry season) to appraise specific yield during the dry season and, second, to estimate recharge from the water table rise during the wet season. This well elaborated and suitable method has then been used as a standard to assess the effectiveness of the chloride method under forest humid climatic environment. Effective specific yield of 0.08 was obtained for the study area. It reflects an effective basin-wide process and is insensitive to local heterogeneities in the aquifer system. The hybrid water fluctuation method gives an average recharge value of 87.14 mm/year at the basin scale, which represents 5.7% of the annual rainfall. Recharge value estimated based on the chloride method varies between 16.24 and 236.95 mm/year with an average value of 108.45 mm/year. It represents 7% of the mean annual precipitation. The discrepancy observed between recharge value estimated by the hybrid water fluctuation and the chloride mass balance methods appears to be very important, which could imply the ineffectiveness of the chloride mass balance method for this present humid environment.     

Long-term increase in diffuse groundwater recharge following expansion of rainfed cultivation in the Sahel,West Africa

Rapid population growth in sub-Saharan West Africa and related cropland expansion were shown in some places to have increased focused recharge through ponds, raising the water table. To estimate changes in diffuse recharge, the water content and matric potential were monitored during 2009 and 2010, and modeling was performed using the Hydrus-1D code for two field sites in southwest Niger: (1) fallow land and (2) rainfed millet cropland. Monitoring results of the upper 10 m showed increased water content and matric potential to greater depth under rainfed cropland (>2.5 m) than under fallow land (≤1.0 m). Model simulations indicate that conversion from fallow land to rainfed cropland (1) increases vadose-zone water storage and (2) should increase drainage flux (～25 mm year^?1) at 10-m depth after a 30–60 year lag. Therefore, observed regional increases in groundwater storage may increasingly result from diffuse recharge, which could compensate, at least in part, groundwater withdrawal due to observed expansion in irrigated surfaces; and hence, contribute to mitigate food crises in the Sahel.     

Groundwater recharge and agricultural contamination

Agriculture has had direct and indirect effects on the rates and compositions of groundwater recharge and aquifer biogeochemistry. Direct effects include dissolution and transport of excess quantities of fertilizers and associated materials and hydrologic alterations related to irrigation and drainage. Some indirect effects include changes in water–rock reactions in soils and aquifers caused by increased concentrations of dissolved oxidants, protons, and major ions. Agricultural activities have directly or indirectly affected the concentrations of a large number of inorganic chemicals in groundwater, for example NO₃ ^–, N₂, Cl, SO₄ ^2–, H⁺, P, C, K, Mg, Ca, Sr, Ba, Ra, and As, as well as a wide variety of pesticides and other organic compounds. For reactive contaminants like NO₃ ^–, a combination of chemical, isotopic, and environmental-tracer analytical approaches might be required to resolve changing inputs from subsequent alterations as causes of concentration gradients in groundwater. Groundwater records derived from multi-component hydrostratigraphic data can be used to quantify recharge rates and residence times of water and dissolved contaminants, document past variations in recharging contaminant loads, and identify natural contaminant-remediation processes. These data indicate that many of the world's surficial aquifers contain transient records of changing agricultural contamination from the last half of the 20th century. The transient agricultural groundwater signal has important implications for long-term trends and spatial heterogeneity in discharge. Electronic Publication     

The use of nitrate, bacteria and fluorescent tracers to characterize groundwater recharge and contamination in a karst catchment, Chongqing, China

The Qingmuguan subterranean river system is located in the suburb of Chongqing, China, and it is the drinking water source that local people downstream rely on. The study aims to provide a scientific basis for groundwater protection in that area, using a hydrogeological framework, tracer tests, hydrological online monitoring, and hydrochemical and microbiological investigation, including heterotrophic plate count (HPC) and the analysis of denitrifying bacteria (DNB) and nitrobacteria (NB). The tracer tests proved simple and direct connections between two important sinkholes and the main springs, and also proved that the underground flows here are fast and turbulent. DNB and NB analyses revealed that the main recharge to the underground river in the dry season is the soil-leached water passing through the fissures of the epikarst, while in the rainy season, it is the surface water flow through sinkholes. The hydrochemical and microbiological data confirmed the notable impact of agriculture and sewage on the spring water quality. In the future, groundwater protection here should focus on targeted vulnerability mapping that yields different protection strategies for different seasons.     

Estimation of groundwater recharge in Wadi Al-Yammaniyah,Saudi Arabia

Groundwater recharge by natural replenishment for the unconsolidated alluvial aquifer in Wadi Al-Yammaniyah is estimated on a daily basis instead of the conventional monthly basis The study reveals that during the two-year period (1978 and 1979), the estimated recharge in the area is about 40% of the total average annual rainfall of 155 mm Subsurface underflow estimated at 36×10⁻⁶ m³/yr from the Wadi Al-Yammaniyah aquifer occurs in the vicinity of Wadi Ash-Shamiyah A comparison of the recharge and extracted volumes of water from the aquifer indicates that there is a net increase of 10 million m³ and 38 million m³ of water in the storage for 1978 and 1979, respectively     

不同降水及灌溉条件下的地下水入渗补给规律

天然降水和人工灌溉是华北平原浅层地下水的主要补给来源。长期过量开采地下水导致华北平原地下水位持续下降,详细分析降水变化规律及灌溉制度的影响有利于深入认识补给及正确评价入渗补给量,对合理开发利用地下水资源具有重要意义。基于实测资料,用HYDRUS软件建立一维变饱和流数值模拟模型,模拟分析了衡水地区近60年在天然降水条件下的垂向入渗补给规律,以及在年周期内灌溉活动对于入渗补给规律的影响。结果表明:研究区多年平均降水入渗补给量为66.6 mm/a;枯水年份降水入渗补给量为30 mm/a,丰水年入渗补给量为120~150 mm/a;年补给量与年降水量具有显著的正相关性;入渗补给系数与降水强度呈负相关关系;入渗补给量随灌溉量的增加而增加,实验条件下小麦底墒水与玉米灌溉对应入渗补给系数较大,实际灌溉中应基于当年降水情况及土壤墒情确定合理的灌水定额。     

Modelling climate-change impacts on groundwater recharge in the Murray-Darling Basin, Australia

A methodology is presented for assessing the average changes in groundwater recharge under a future climate. The method is applied to the 1,060,000 km² Murray-Darling Basin (MDB) in Australia. Climate sequences were developed based upon three scenarios for a 2030 climate relative to a 1990 climate from the outputs of 15 global climate models. Dryland diffuse groundwater recharge was modelled in WAVES using these 45 climate scenarios and fitted to a Pearson Type III probability distribution to condense the 45 scenarios down to three: a wet future, a median future and a dry future. The use of a probability distribution allowed the significance of any change in recharge to be assessed. This study found that for the median future, climate recharge is projected to increase on average by 5% across the MDB but this is not spatially uniform. In the wet and dry future scenarios the recharge is projected to increase by 32% and decrease by 12% on average across the MDB, respectively. The differences between the climate sequences generated by the 15 different global climate models makes it difficult to project the direction of the change in recharge for a 2030 climate, let alone the magnitude.     

Quantification of groundwater recharge in the city of Nottingham, UK

 Groundwater is an important and valuable resource for water supply to cities. In order to make full and wise use of the asset value, a clear understanding of the quantities and sources of urban groundwater recharge is needed. The water supply and disposal network is often an important source of recharge to urban groundwater through leakage from water mains and sewers. An approach to establishing the spatial and temporal amounts of the three urban recharge sources (precipitation, mains and sewers) is developed and illustrated using the Nottingham (UK) urban aquifer. A calibrated groundwater flow model is supplemented by calibrated solute balances for three conservative species (Cl, SO₄ and total N), thus providing four lines of evidence to use in the recharge estimation. Nottingham is located on a Triassic sandstone aquifer with average precipitation of 700 mm/year. Using the models, current urban recharge is estimated to be 211 mm/year, of which 138 mm/year (±40%) is from mains leakage and 10 mm/year (±100%) is from sewer leakage. The wide confidence intervals result from the scarcity of historical field data and the long turnover time in this high volume aquifer, and should be significantly lower for many other aquifer systems. Received: 1 December 1997 · Accepted: 14 September 1998     

Gas buildup in Lake Nyos,Cameroon: The recharge process and its consequences

The gases dissolved in Lake Nyos, Cameroon, were quantified recently (December 1989 and September 1990) by two independent techniques: in-situ measurements using a newly designed probe and laboratory analyses of samples collected in pre-evacuated stainless steel cylinders. The highest concentrations of CO₂ and CH₄ were 0.30 mol/kg and 1.7 mmol/kg, respectively, measured in cylinders collected 1 m above lake bottom. Probe measurements of in-situ gas pressure at three different stations showed that horizontal variations in total dissolved gas were negligible. Total dissolved-gas pressure near the lake bottom is 1.06 MPa (10.5 atm), 50% as high as the hydrostatic pressure of 2.1 MPa (21 atm). Comparing the CO₂ profile constructed from the 1990 data to one obtained in May 1987 shows that CO₂ concentrations have increased at depths to below 150 m. Based on these profiles, the average rate of CO₂ input to bottom waters was 2.6 × 10⁸ mol/a. Increased deep-water temperatures require an average heat flow of 0.32 MW into the hypolimnion over the same time period. The transport rates of CO₂, heat, and major ions into the hypolimnion suggest that a low-temperature reservoir of free CO₂ exists a short distance below lake bottom and that convective cycling of lake water through the sediments is involved in transporting the CO₂ into the lake from the underlying diatreme. Increased CH₄ concentrations at all depths below the oxycline and a high¹⁴C content (41% modern) in the CH₄ 4 m above lake bottom show that much of the CH₄ is biologically produced within the lake. The CH₄ production rate may vary with time, but if the CO₂ recharge rate remains constant, CO₂ saturation of the entire hypolimnion below 50 m depth would require ∼140a, given present-day concentrations.     

Groundwater recharge and discharge processes in the Jakarta groundwater basin, Indonesia

Proper management of groundwater resources requires knowledge of the processes of recharge and discharge associated with a groundwater basin. Such processes have been identified in the Jakarta groundwater basin, Indonesia using a theory that describes the simultaneous transfer of heat and fluid in a porous medium. Temperature-depth profiles in monitoring wells are used to determine the geothermal gradient. To examine the rules of groundwater flow in the distortion of the isotherms in this area, several methods are compared. Subsurface temperature distribution is strongly affected by heat advection due to groundwater flow. Under natural flow conditions, the recharge area is assumed to occur in the hills and uplands, which are located on the periphery of the Jakarta basin, and the discharge area is located in the central and northern part of the Jakarta groundwater basin. A transition area, which could act as local recharge and discharge areas, occupies the middle of the lowland. Subsurface temperatures show good correlation with the groundwater flow conditions, and the data yield important information on the location of recharge and discharge areas.     

华北平原地下水补给量计算分析

采用溴示踪法研究华北平原山前冲积平原和中部平原有灌溉和无灌溉区域的地下水补给,得到研究区平均地下水补给量为126.10 mm,平均补给系数为0.185 2,有灌溉实验点的补给量和补给系数大于无灌溉实验点。同时对示踪剂运移深度和含水量分布、降雨灌溉量和地下水埋深等影响因素进行分析。将各实验点计算结果与国内有关学者采用示踪剂法所得到的补给系数进行对比分析,论证了研究结果的可靠性,此研究成果可为华北平原地下水资源分析提供重要参考。     

Climate change and its role in forecasting energy demand in buildings: A case study of Douala City,Cameroon

Journal of Earth System Science - The foremost role of a building is to assure the comfort of its occupants. The thermal comfort of a building depends on the outdoor climate and requires a demand...     

Use of remote sensing, GIS and groundwater monitoring to estimate artificial groundwater recharge in Riyadh, Saudi Arabia

This study aims to estimate artificial recharge of groundwater by using remote sensing technology, geographical information systems, and groundwater surveys. This study is part of the King Fahd project for rainfall and runoff water harvesting, within the premises of Alilb Dam in Diriyah to the west of Riyadh. Digital elevation models were obtained with the help of aerial photography from the year 2007. These models were used to delineate watershed. Average rainfall was calculated using isoheytal method, and the area of each of the storage lakes was measured using SPOT 5 satellite images from 2007. Fluctuations in groundwater levels, evaporation, and infiltration rates were used to determine the water balance for the purpose of estimating of artificial recharge. Artificial recharge rates were found to surpass natural recharge from rainfall. Recharge wells caused a reduction in the effect of evaporation on storage lakes and helped in supplying water to the groundwater reservoir. Moreover, 80% and 86% of the rainwater was found to be available for artificial recharge in Alilb at 2005 and 2007, respectively. The study recommends the establishment of strategic projects for water storage using artificial recharge wells, an increase in the number of monitoring wells around the dams, and the monitoring of hydrochemical changes in groundwater both before and after the artificial recharge. It also recommends the erection of a weather station in the northwest of Wadi Hanifa.