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Mapping the groundwater vulnerability for pollution at the pan African scale
Issoufou Ouedraogo1, Pierre Defourny1, Marnik Vanclooster1
1Earth and Life Institute, Université catholique de Louvain, Croix du Sud 2, Box 2, B-1348 Louvain-la-Neuve, Belgium.
The Science of the Total Environment
|January 16, 2016
Summary
Groundwater in Central and West Africa faces high pollution risk due to shallow water tables and agriculture. This study maps groundwater vulnerability and pollution across Africa to aid water management.
Area of Science:
- Environmental Science
- Hydrogeology
- Geographic Information Systems (GIS)
Background:
- Groundwater resources are critical for Africa, yet their vulnerability and pollution risk at a continental scale remain poorly understood.
- Assessing groundwater status is essential for sustainable water management and policy development across diverse African landscapes.
Purpose of the Study:
- To create pan-African maps estimating groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk.
- To identify key factors influencing groundwater vulnerability and pollution.
- To validate the assessment using existing groundwater quality data.
Main Methods:
- Compiled continental data on soil, land use, geology, hydrogeology, and climate into a GIS.
- Applied the DRASTIC method to generate a groundwater vulnerability map.
- Integrated land use data with the vulnerability map to create a pollution risk map.
- Conducted a sensitivity analysis to determine parameter importance.
- Validated the model using nitrate concentration data from groundwater.
Main Results:
- Groundwater vulnerability is high in Central and West Africa (low water tables) and low in desert basins (deep aquifers).
- High groundwater pollution risk is prevalent in northern, central, and western Africa, linked to shallow groundwater and agriculture.
- Sensitivity analysis revealed that vadose zone, groundwater depth, hydraulic conductivity, and net recharge significantly impact vulnerability and risk.
- Model validation showed a strong correlation between nitrate concentrations and predicted pollution risk classes.
Conclusions:
- The study provides valuable pan-African assessments of groundwater vulnerability and pollution risk, crucial for water policy and management.
- The findings highlight the significant impact of agricultural practices and shallow groundwater systems on pollution risk.
- Future improvements can be achieved by integrating more comprehensive pan-African groundwater pollution monitoring data.
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