G.M. Osiakwan et al.
Journal of African Earth Sciences 184 (2021) 104371
of surface water supplies in the region is continuously declining due to
the continuous and seemingly uncontrollable pollution by anthropo­
genic activities such as inappropriate farming practices and illegal small
scale mining including sand mining and quarrying. As a coastal aquifer,
groundwater salinization is also one of the major factors influencing
groundwater quality (Werner et al., 2013). One of the key factors in
sustainable groundwater resource management in such aquifers is the
comprehension of the salinization mechanisms (Argamasilla et al.,
2017). Extensive research to delineate the origin of salinization in
coastal aquifers has been addressed and attributed to saline intrusion,
mostly in unconfined aquifers (excessive groundwater abstraction) close
to the sea (Argamasilla et al., 2017; Werner et al., 2013). However, with
confined or semi-confined aquifers, complex hydrogeological processes
such as water-rock interaction, residence time and mixing processes
with different water sources may affect groundwater quality and
geochemical evolution (Appelo and Postma, 1996a, 1996b, 1996c,
1996a).
The issue of salination in the Ochi-Narkwa basin in the Central Re­
gion has been fairly assessed (Ganyaglo et al., 2017) using hydro­
chemistry and isotope techniques. The study suggests a strong geological
background to the major ion chemistry with little effect of seawater
intrusion. However, assessment of the groundwater chemistry in the
Central Region on the regional scale using hydrogeochemical methods
(ionic ratios) coupled with statistical analysis as Principal Componet
Analysis (PCA) and Cluster Analysis (CA), and advanced geostatistical
techniques is lacking. Such integration provides the necessary means to
investigate complex coastal aquifers (Abu-alnaeem et al., 2018; Arga­
masilla et al., 2017; Heydarirad et al., 2019) and the output can serve as
the basis for reliable groundwater management. Consequently, deeper
knowledge regarding water quality issues, specifically in the context of
increasing groundwater use and decreasing natural recharge rate, may
give rise to seawater intrusion processes. As such, it is necessary for a
more integrated water resources management by all stakeholders in
groundwater governance.
In this study, we adopted an integrated approach (chemometrics,
geochemistry and geostatistical techniques) for the first time to evaluate
Fig. 1. Map of the study area.
groundwater dynamics in the area. The focus of this paper, therefore, is
to determine groundwater quality and evolution in the semi-confined
and confined granitic aquifers. We examined on a regional scale
groundwater quality, salinization, hydrogeochemical processes to
establish the main control of groundwater quality in the coastal aquifers
of the Central Region of Ghana. The outcome is expected to serve as
baseline information for sustainable management of groundwater in the
region.
2. Study area
2.1. Location, drainage and climate
The Central Region is one of Ghana’s most important social, aca­
demic, economic and agricultural regions. The region has a size of 9826
km2, representing 4.1% of the total landmass of Ghana. It is located
between longitudes 2.15888oW to 0.4805oW and latitudes 5.11455oN to
6.3052oN. Administratively, the Central Region is bounded by the
Western and Greater Accra Regions to the West and East respectively
with the Ashanti and Eastern Regions to the North. The southern part of
the region (coastal line) is shared with the Gulf of Guinea (Fig. 1).
The region is drained by five major streams, namely, the Offin and
Pra in the northern part and the Ochi, Kakum and Amisa in the south. All
these streams flow southward into the sea. Geomorphologically, the
region consists of undulating hilly terrain with a few inselbergs rising to
over 1000 m above mean sea level. The study area has two rainfall
maxima with mean annual rainfall between 850 mm in the southeast
and 1500 mm in the northwest. The first rainy season is from April to
June and the second from September to November. The dry season spans
a period of four months from December to March. The highest mean
monthly temperature of about 33 ◦ C occurs in March and the lowest
mean minimum temperature of about 23 ◦ C in August. The average
monthly relative humidity varies from approximately 50% daily in the
dry months to over 90% during the wet months.