Assessing the impact of industrial and urban wastes on the irrigation water quality of three streams in a semi-arid coastal savannah catchment in Ghana

Anthropogenic disturbances have had and continue to have an impact on the aquatic ecosystem of Ghana. The purpose of the study was to investigate the impact of anthropogenic activities on the irrigation water quality of three streams in southern Ghana. In the present study, the chemical quality of three streams under different (industrial and urban) land use within the same catchment in Ghana was examined using standard methods of Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) and American Public Health Association (APHA) to evaluate the effects of human activities on irrigation water quality. Analyses showed that all the streams were neutral to slightly alkaline. Relatively high concentration of salinity (EC_w) and Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) were found in streams in industrial and high density residential areas. In addition, the mean values of major cations (Na⁺, K⁺, Ca²⁺ Mg²⁺) and anions (SO₄ ^2-, Cl^-HCO₃^-) were high in industrial and high density residential areas. Trace metal (Fe²⁺, Mn²⁺ Zn²⁺Cu²⁺, Cr³⁺, Pb²⁺, Cd²⁺) concentrations were generally low and did not show any trend under different types of land uses. The results showed that all the three streams were generally unsuitable for irrigation and should be used with caution.