The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare

The safety of drinking water is becoming more crucial as the world's population is increasing and anthropogenic activities which pollute water resources are intensifying. This study was carried out between June and August of 2022 to determine the physicochemical and microbial parameters of the...

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Main Authors: Daniel Kwaku Amoah, Esi Awuah, Isaac O.A. Hodgson, Miriam Appiah-Brempong, Elizabeth Von-Kiti, Isaac Nii Yartey Nyarko
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2024-12-01
Series:Scientific African
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624003016
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author Daniel Kwaku Amoah
Esi Awuah
Isaac O.A. Hodgson
Miriam Appiah-Brempong
Elizabeth Von-Kiti
Isaac Nii Yartey Nyarko
author_facet Daniel Kwaku Amoah
Esi Awuah
Isaac O.A. Hodgson
Miriam Appiah-Brempong
Elizabeth Von-Kiti
Isaac Nii Yartey Nyarko
author_sort Daniel Kwaku Amoah
collection DOAJ
description The safety of drinking water is becoming more crucial as the world's population is increasing and anthropogenic activities which pollute water resources are intensifying. This study was carried out between June and August of 2022 to determine the physicochemical and microbial parameters of the Volta Lake at Asutsuare due to sand mining activities and to evaluate how well coconut husk biochar could remove these contaminants. Water samples were taken from one meter below the surface at the upstream, midstream (sand mining site) and downstream once a week for three months. Water samples from the midstream were passed through a coconut husk biochar column to determine its ability to remove pollutants in the water samples. Compared to the upstream, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in colour, turbidity, iron, manganese, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total coliform and total suspended solids from the water sampled from the midstream and downstream sites. Moreover, these values also exceeded the WHO guidelines. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the midstream, the upstream and downstream sampling sites for the following parameters: zinc, lead, copper, conductivity, TDS, temperature, faecal coliform, Escherichia coli and pH. Biochar from coconut husk was used once and seems to be a highly effective sorbent for removing pollutants from water samples (>70 % removal efficiency).
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spelling doaj-art-ec7382abe92643f4a02e14436eec9e6c2025-08-20T01:57:05ZengElsevierScientific African2468-22762024-12-0126e0235910.1016/j.sciaf.2024.e02359The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of AsutsuareDaniel Kwaku Amoah0Esi Awuah1Isaac O.A. Hodgson2Miriam Appiah-Brempong3Elizabeth Von-Kiti4Isaac Nii Yartey Nyarko5Environmental Chemistry and Sanitation Engineering Division, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, Ghana; Corresponding author.Regional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center, KNUST, Kumasi, GhanaEnvironmental Chemistry and Sanitation Engineering Division, CSIR-Water Research Institute, Accra, GhanaRegional Water and Environmental Sanitation Center, KNUST, Kumasi, GhanaCSIR- Institute of Industrial Research, Accra, GhanaOsudoku Water Supply Systems, Community Water and Sanitation Agency, Asutsuare, GhanaThe safety of drinking water is becoming more crucial as the world's population is increasing and anthropogenic activities which pollute water resources are intensifying. This study was carried out between June and August of 2022 to determine the physicochemical and microbial parameters of the Volta Lake at Asutsuare due to sand mining activities and to evaluate how well coconut husk biochar could remove these contaminants. Water samples were taken from one meter below the surface at the upstream, midstream (sand mining site) and downstream once a week for three months. Water samples from the midstream were passed through a coconut husk biochar column to determine its ability to remove pollutants in the water samples. Compared to the upstream, there was a significant difference (p < 0.05) in colour, turbidity, iron, manganese, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, total coliform and total suspended solids from the water sampled from the midstream and downstream sites. Moreover, these values also exceeded the WHO guidelines. There were no significant differences (p > 0.05) between the midstream, the upstream and downstream sampling sites for the following parameters: zinc, lead, copper, conductivity, TDS, temperature, faecal coliform, Escherichia coli and pH. Biochar from coconut husk was used once and seems to be a highly effective sorbent for removing pollutants from water samples (>70 % removal efficiency).http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624003016Water qualitySand miningVolta riverBiocharPhysico-chemical
spellingShingle Daniel Kwaku Amoah
Esi Awuah
Isaac O.A. Hodgson
Miriam Appiah-Brempong
Elizabeth Von-Kiti
Isaac Nii Yartey Nyarko
The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
Scientific African
Water quality
Sand mining
Volta river
Biochar
Physico-chemical
title The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
title_full The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
title_fullStr The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
title_full_unstemmed The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
title_short The impact of river sand mining and waste management on the Volta Lake: A case study of Asutsuare
title_sort impact of river sand mining and waste management on the volta lake a case study of asutsuare
topic Water quality
Sand mining
Volta river
Biochar
Physico-chemical
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S2468227624003016
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