TY - JOUR
T1 - Urbanizing with or without nature
T2 - pollution effects of human activities on water quality of major rivers that drain the Kumasi Metropolis of Ghana
AU - Darko, Godfred
AU - Obiri-Yeboah, Seth
AU - Takyi, Stephen Appiah
AU - Amponsah, Owusu
AU - Borquaye, Lawrence Sheringham
AU - Amponsah, Lydia Otoo
AU - Fosu-Mensah, Benedicta Y.
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2021, The Author(s), under exclusive licence to Springer Nature Switzerland AG.
PY - 2022/1
Y1 - 2022/1
N2 - The effects of urbanization such as population upsurge, increased industrialization, urban agriculture, and rural–urban migration of persons exert pressure on the limited water resources in most cities. This study investigated the impact of human activities on the water and sediment quality of the three main rivers (Wiwi, Subin, and Suntre) in Kumasi, the second-largest city in Ghana. The physicochemical parameters and the concentrations of contaminants, including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticide residues, and microbial loads in the rivers, were linked to the specific human activities at the riverbanks. While all the 37 pesticide residues investigated in river sediments had concentrations below the detection limits (0.005 mg/kg for organochlorines, 0.010 mg/kg for organophosphates, and 0.010 mg/kg for synthetic pyrethroids), the study showed that the sediments are polluted with petrogenic and pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. River Subin, the most polluted among the three rivers, recorded benzo[e]pyrene concentrations up to 47,169 µg/kg. The geoaccumulation index and concentration factors show that the rivers are highly contaminated with metals such as cadmium, chromium, mercury, and arsenic and are related to human activities. The microbial quality of the rivers was poor, recording specific microbial loads of 6.8, 4.1, and 1.5 × 107 counts/100 mL respectively for Wiwi, Subin, and the Suntre Rivers. The three water bodies are therefore not suitable for recreational and irrigational purposes.
AB - The effects of urbanization such as population upsurge, increased industrialization, urban agriculture, and rural–urban migration of persons exert pressure on the limited water resources in most cities. This study investigated the impact of human activities on the water and sediment quality of the three main rivers (Wiwi, Subin, and Suntre) in Kumasi, the second-largest city in Ghana. The physicochemical parameters and the concentrations of contaminants, including heavy metals, polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons, pesticide residues, and microbial loads in the rivers, were linked to the specific human activities at the riverbanks. While all the 37 pesticide residues investigated in river sediments had concentrations below the detection limits (0.005 mg/kg for organochlorines, 0.010 mg/kg for organophosphates, and 0.010 mg/kg for synthetic pyrethroids), the study showed that the sediments are polluted with petrogenic and pyrogenic polycyclic aromatic hydrocarbons. River Subin, the most polluted among the three rivers, recorded benzo[e]pyrene concentrations up to 47,169 µg/kg. The geoaccumulation index and concentration factors show that the rivers are highly contaminated with metals such as cadmium, chromium, mercury, and arsenic and are related to human activities. The microbial quality of the rivers was poor, recording specific microbial loads of 6.8, 4.1, and 1.5 × 107 counts/100 mL respectively for Wiwi, Subin, and the Suntre Rivers. The three water bodies are therefore not suitable for recreational and irrigational purposes.
KW - Contamination
KW - Environmental impact
KW - Industrialization
KW - Rural–urban migration
KW - Urbanization
KW - Water pollution
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=85121534230&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1007/s10661-021-09686-8
DO - 10.1007/s10661-021-09686-8
M3 - Article
C2 - 34935079
AN - SCOPUS:85121534230
SN - 0167-6369
VL - 194
JO - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
JF - Environmental Monitoring and Assessment
IS - 1
M1 - 38
ER -