Nitrate pollution study in the aquifer of Dakar (Senegal)

Dakar is a peninsula inhabited by a population of about 2 million people in 1996. In some dug wells and piezometers, the nitrate content (NO3.) in the groundwater is above the World Health Organization (WHO) limit of 50 mg/l. In the unconfined part of the aquifer of the peninsula, all the samples from wells are contaminated by high nitrate contents which increased over time from 100 mg/l in 1987 to more than 250 mg/l in 1996. Only a limited area is affected by nitrate pollution in the confined layer. The results indicate anthropogenic pollution, a fact which indicates the increasing risk of pollution of drinking-water resources. Studies in the unsaturated zone and familiarity with the sanitation practices in the area indicate that the horizontal and vertical flux are linked mainly to defective septic tanks and direct organic waste elimination into the soil by more than 40% of the inhabitants. The correlation between tritium values (3H) and nitrate shows that the source of nitrate is recent. The relation of oxygen 18 (18O) to deuterium (2H) in water with high nitrate levels indicates that the concentrations of nitrate have been identified in evaporated points.