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Assessing the state of the water quality, the challenges to provision, and the associated water development considerations in Ndola, Zambia Elisabeth Sarah Liddle A thesis submitted in partial fulfilment for the degree of Master of Science in Geography at the University of Otago, Dunedin, New Zealand. Date: March 2014 i Abstract The Copperbelt Province of Zambia is marked by extensive surface water contamination as a result of heavy mining operations in the province over the past century. Both the World Bank (2009) and Republic of Zambia and Federal Republic of Germany (2007) have advised that Copperbelt communities turn to groundwater fields for drinking, domestic and irrigation water. Focusing on the city of Ndola, this research assesses the state of water provision in the city and the hydrogeochemcial viability of these resources in providing safe drinking, domestic and irrigation water for local communities. Water samples were collected from surface waters, shallow hand dug wells, and boreholes over a two-month period from April-June 2013. In-field measurements of pH, EC, Eh, temperature, and total coliform concentrations were taken, along with key informant interviews and local water-user questionnaire surveys. Water samples were analysed for a range of heavy metals, both in the total and dissolved forms, as well as dissolved cations. Statistical analysis of water quality data, and coding of key informant and water-user data highlighted key trends, differences, concerns, and challenges within the water supply systems of Ndola. Surface water contamination is evident in Ndola (primarily aluminium and total coliforms), whereby local users understand this and have turned from using these sources. However, access and the affordability of municipal supply as an alternative to surface waters are extremely limited in Ndola, forcing the majority of residents to rely on shallow wells. While distinct differences in water quality were observed between surface water and groundwater quality, shallow wells are not safe for human consumption (with concentrations of aluminium and total coliform exceeding recommended maximum values), primarily due to the lack of well protection and their vulnerability to contamination via surface water interactions and direct ingress from overland runoff. Borehole wells are protected from contamination due to their distance from the surface and subsurface filtration removing contaminants as water percolates through the phreatic zone. There was considerable spatial variation in water quality across the city, which is attributed primarily to variations in subsurface lithology and its role in metal mobility. For example, contamination was minimal in the dolomite-limestone areas, which is likely attributable to chemical buffering due to naturally high pH and hardness concentrations in dolomite aquifers. Furthermore, shallow wells in granite-gneiss areas were found to have lower levels of contamination, which was interpreted as a function of the low recharge rates into these rock types. Overall the groundwater resource is suitable for drinking and further development of this resource would substantially improve local access to safe drinking, domestic and irrigation water. However, the current reliance on shallow wells within informal communities needs to be urgently addressed, both to protect the health of those consuming this water and to protect the shallow aquifers from systemic contamination from pit latrines and poor well protection. ii Acknowledgments Firstly, I dedicate this thesis to God. Thank you for this dream, thank you for your provision, and thank you for guiding me the whole way through. This thesis is entirely for you. To my supervisors, Dr Sarah Mager and Prof Etienne Nel, thank you for all of your advice and for trusting me enough to send me to Africa. Sarah, thank you for joining me for a week-your filtering skills proved to be extremely handy! Thank you to the staff in the Department of Geography, University of Otago, and to Julie Clark for all of your help in the lab. To my family, thank you for all of your love, encouragement and support. To Mum and Dad, thank you for letting me go to Africa! Thank you for teaching me the value of education. To Michael, Christina, Sean, Melissa, Thomas, Rachel and Catherine, thank you for being amazing role models and for believing in me, even though I am the youngest! To Nana, Grandad Jim, Gran and Grandad Don, thank you for all of the ways that you have blessed me. And to Ruby, Jack and Fitz, thank you for all of your smiles and for the fun that we have together! To all of my friends, thank you for listening to me ramble on about Africa! To my lifegroup girls, thank you for listening and praying. To Brian, thank you for your support and for letting me talk about water-a lot! You have taught me that I am a verbal processor-thank you for listening! To everyone who helped me in Zambia, thank you! To Mr Phiri and Mrs Banda and everyone at Seeds of Hope, Mr Mwitwa (Copperbelt University), Mr Kolla (Department of Water Affairs), Mr Bilima (Kafubu Water and Sewage) and Mr Matola (Department of Agriculture), thank you for all of your assistance and advice in the field. To Mando Chitondo, this thesis would not have been possible if it were not for you! Thank you for taking your crazy Musungu into communities every day, helping collect samples, and conducting all of the questionnaires. Thank you for all of your encouragement and for your friendship. Also, thank you Kevin and Liz for all of your help with sampling boreholes. To my Zambian family, Conrad and Babette, Terry and Carolyn, and my home-group from Ndola Christian Fellowship, thank you for looking after me and for welcoming me into your lives. Your generosity amazed me and my experience would not have been the same without you. Lastly, this project would not have been possible without my funders. To the Sasakawa Young Leaders Fellowship Fund, NZAid, and NZFGW, thank you for all that you so generously provided. iii Table of Contents Abstract ii Acknowledgments iii Table of Contents iv List of Tables vii List of Figures x List of Case Studies xii 1. Introduction 1 1.1 Legacy and contemporary influences on Ndola’s Water Quality ............................ 4 1.2 Water Resources and Provisioning in Ndola .............................................................. 5 1.3 The importance of water in the realisation of the Millennium Development Goals………………………………………………………………………………………… 8 1.4 Thesis outline ................................................................................................................. 10 2. Natural and Anthropogenic Influences on Water Quality in Ndola 11 2.1 Safe drinking, domestic and irrigation water: the impact on people’s health ...... 12 2.2 Hydrogeological processes and threats to water quality ........................................ 15 2.2.1 The zones of groundwater and their respective recharge potential, hence vulnerability to contaminants ......................................................... 15 2.2.2 Geogenic influences on Ndola’s groundwater quality ........................... 19 Natural sources of pollutants in an aquifer 19 Geogenic influences on recharge 22 Geogenic influence on metal mobility 23 2.3 Non-Geogenic Influences on Ndola’s groundwater quality ................................... 27 2.3.1 Mining ........................................................................................................... 28 2.3.2 Residential land use ..................................................................................... 30 2.3.3 Contaminated surface waters ..................................................................... 31 2.4 Aims and Objectives ..................................................................................................... 34 3. Methods 35 3.1 Introduction ................................................................................................................... 35 3.2 Research Design ............................................................................................................ 35 3.3 Study Area ..................................................................................................................... 37 iv 3.3.1 Groundwater resources: Ndola’s hydrogeology ..................................... 38 3.4 Data Collection and Sampling Strategy ..................................................................... 42 3.4.1 Water Quality Sampling .............................................................................. 42 3.4.2 Overview of the Communities Sampled ................................................... 45 3.4.3 Sample Collection ........................................................................................ 49 3.5 In-situ measurements ................................................................................................... 50 3.5.1 Basic Water Quality Indicators ................................................................... 50 3.5.2 Total Coliform Analysis .............................................................................. 51 3.6 Interview and questionnaire strategy ........................................................................ 51 3.6.1 Ethical Considerations ................................................................................. 51 3.6.2 Interview and questionnaire process ........................................................ 52 3.6.3 Possible limitations in the interview process/positionality .................... 54 3.7