Year: 2025
Type: article
Abstract: The Limpopo Province, situated in the northern part of South Africa, is mainly comprising rural areas that lack adequate facilities for drinking water. Boreholes are the main source of drinking water in rural and urbanized areas of Limpopo Province. Sixty-three water samples, from three locations in Limpopo Province, namely Mankweng, Dalmada, and Polokwane, plus two samples from a river in Magoebaskloof and still water as controls, were collected and subjected to analysis. The Sodium Absorption Ratio (SAR) analysis ranged from 1.4 to 35.6, revealing that 25% of the samples from Mankweng bear low quality with a high amount of sodium. Piper plot showed that two major water types exist in the samples, 33% and 67% of the water samples were of Na-Cl and Ca-Cl types, respectively. To identify the leading natural and anthropogenic processes causing variation in groundwater chemistry, principal component analysis (PCA) was used. The most detected heavy metal was V (vanadium) with 0.00 to 0.59 (mg/mL). The PCA results grouped all water samples from Dalmada together. However, the water samples from Mankweng were divided into three groups by PCA, with borehole samples showing a correlation with heavy metals. In conclusion, the study revealed that natural and anthropogenic activities cause groundwater variation in the Limpopo Province. All the boreholes sampled showed the presence of total coliform, but no E. coli was detected. In addition, regarding microbial contamination, water samples were suitable for drinking and irrigation purposes.
Source: Environments
Authors: Ebrahim Shokoohi, Ngoni Moyo
Institution: University of Limpopo
Language: English
Subfield: Water Science and Technology
Field: Environmental Science
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,172
OpenAlex ID: W4410694528