Ground and surface water quality along a dambo transect in Chihota smallholder farming area,Marondera district,Zimbabwe |
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| Institution: | 1. Hobart and William Smith Colleges, Department of Biology, 300 Pulteney Street, Geneva, NY 14456, USA;2. Skidmore College, Departments of Biology and Environmental Science, 815 N Broadway, Saratoga Springs, NY 12833, USA;3. Ithaca College, Biology Department, 953 Danby Rd., Ithaca, NY 14850, USA;4. Poughkeepsie Day School, 260 Boardman Road, Poughkeepsie, NY 12603, USA;1. Department of Clinical and Experimental Medicine – Section of Applied Biology and Genetics, University of Pisa, Pisa, Italy;2. Department of Physical, Earth and Environmental Sciences, University of Siena, Siena, Italy;3. Department of Environmental, Biological and Pharmaceutical, Sciences and Technologies, Second University of Naples, Caserta, Italy;4. Department of Biosciences, University of Milan, Milan, Italy;5. Masaryk University, Research Centre for Toxic Compounds in the Environment, Brno, Czech Republic;6. Facultad de Ciencias, Universidad Católica Santísima Concepción, Concepción, Chile |
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| Abstract: | In many smallholder farms in sub-Saharan Africa dambos are used for grazing and crop production especially horticultural crops. Increased use of dambos especially for crop production can result in ground and surface water pollution. Ground and surface water quality along a dambo transect in Chihota, Zimbabwe, was investigated between October 2013 and February 2014. The transect was divided into; upland (control), dambo gardens (mid-slope) and the river (valley bottom). Water samples for quality assessment were collected in October 2013 (peak of dry season) and February 2014 (peak of rainy season). The collected water samples were analysed for pH, faecal coliforms, total nitrogen, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids (TDS), and some selected nutrients (P, K, Ca, Mg, Na, Zn, and Cu). Water pH was 7.0, 6.4 and 6.1 for river water, garden and upland wells respectively. During the wet season total nitrogen (TN) concentrations were 233 mg/L for uplands, 242 mg/L for gardens and 141 mg/L for the river. During the dry season, TN concentrations were all below 20 mg/L, and were not significantly different among sampling stations along the dambo transect. Dry season faecal coliform units (fcu) were significantly different and were 37.2, 30.0 and 5.0 for upland wells, garden wells and river respectively. Wet season faecal coliforms were also significantly different and were 428.5, 258.0 and 479.4 fcu for upland wells, garden wells and river respectively. The other measured physico-chemical parameters also varied with sampling position along the transect. It was concluded that TN and fcu in sampled water varied with season and that wet season concentrations were significantly higher than dry season concentrations. High concentrations of faecal coliforms and total N during the wet season was attributed to increased water movement. Water from upland wells, garden wells and river was not suitable for human consumption according to WHO standards during both the dry and wet seasons. |
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| Keywords: | Dambo catena Water quality Wells Contamination |
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