Variations in physico-chemical properties of shallow groundwater aquifers across rural-urban differentials

The quality of groundwater is controlled mostly by geology, lithology and depth of aquifers. However, anthropogenic activities can also influence the chemical characteristics of groundwater and this relates directly or indirectly to land use/land cover characteristics. To this effect, this study aimed at evaluating the effect of land use/land cover on the quality of shallow groundwater aquifers in Yenagoa City and its Environs, Bayelsa State, Nigeria. Fifteen groundwater samples were collected randomly from each of the urban and rural land use types making a total of 30 water samples from hand-dug wells that tap into shallow aquifers in the study area. The water samples were subjected to laboratory analyses for Temperature (T), pH, Salinity (Sal), Electrical Conductivity (EC), Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), Nitrate (NO3), Chloride (Cl-), Sulphate (SO42-), Total Alkalinity (TA), Total Hardness (TH), Iron (Fe), Manganese (Mn), Fluoride (F) and Arsenic (As). Factor analysis and Independent samples t-test were employed for analyses in the study. The results revealed that all minimum concentrations of physic-chemical contaminants analyzed were recorded in the rural land use type with exception of pH and Iron (Fe) while all maximum concentrations were recorded in the urban land use type with exception of Fluoride, Sulfate and Total Hardness. Independent samples t-test show that there is a significant difference in the groundwater physico-chemical characteristics between urban and rural land use types.