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Principal component analysis of groundwater quality data underlying Geochemical processes of Dahomeyan formation and Togo series in the Ho Municipality (Ghana)


IOA Hodgson
S Obiri
SJ Cobbina
G Quarcoo
AA Duah

Abstract

The physico-chemical quality data of groundwater extracted from 36 boreholes in Ho Municipality indicated that 11 sources recorded pH values outside WHO guideline range, while 5 recorded turbidity levels above WHO guideline limits. Sodium levels ranged from 1.80 to 544 mg/L with a mean of 111 ± 132 mg/l; chloride level ranged from 2.98 to 898 mg/L with a mean of 124 ± 183 mg/L, and cation and anion dominance was in the ord-er Na+ > Mg2+ > Ca2+ > K+ and HCO3- > Cl- > SO42- respectively. The quality data was subjected to Principal Component Analysis, and two components (PC1 and PC2) were extracted. The PC1 represented nearly 88.17 % of the variance and had high absolute loadings for electrical conductivity, calcium, alkalinity and chloride, indi-cating interactions of minerals from the Dahomeyan formation and Togo series with the groundwater in the area. The PC2 accounted for 6.62 % of total variance, showing high loadings for colour, turbidity, HCO3 and total iron. The major geochemical processes taking place might be the presence and dissolution of carbonates and dolomites, evaporated minerals and chemical reactions involving reverse ion-exchange in the aquifer

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eISSN: 0855-2215