Assessment of groundwater quality and community’s experiences in relation to water quantity and quality challenges in Lephalale Municipality, Waterberg District, Limpopo Province in South Africa

Abstract

The aim of this study was to assess the water quality of groundwater utilized for domestic and irrigation purposes in Lephalale Municipality, interrogate the community's experiences and issues related to water quality and supply in Lephalale local municipality, Waterberg district in Limpopo province of South Africa. The results showed that the mean values of major cations and anions were in the order; Na+>Ca2+>Mg2+>K+ and HCO3->Cl->NO3->SO42->F-, respectively. About 36% of the sampled groundwater had F- higher than the recommended limit of 1.5 mg/L. For microbial pollutants, 27 % and 41 % of the boreholes were above the threshold set by the World Health Organisation (WHO) in terms of total coliform and faecal coliform, respectively. This can pose health risks to consumers. The hydrogeochemical facies revealed the dominance of mixed Ca-Mg-Cl and Ca-Cl water type which indicated the governance of rock-water interaction. About 19 % of participants from Mmatladi village indicated that they spend over a month without running water in their taps. Households have members suffering from fluorosis (28 %), and most of them do not have knowledge on water quality (78 %). The results revealed that the developed water system could treat 1.68 L of groundwater with 30 g of Al/Fe oxide Diatomaceous Earth (DE) which shows a great potential. The study recommends continuous groundwater quality monitoring in Lephalale Municipality. Due to lack of knowledge amongst the participants concerning water quality, there is a need for public awareness campaign in the area. The developed material for water treatment system needs to be enhanced to increase the adsorption capacity and minimise leaching of elements.