Hydrochemical peculiarities and groundwater quality assessment of the Birimian and Tarkwaian aquifer systems in Bosome Freho District and Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Ghana

Hydrochemical peculiarities and groundwater quality assessment of the Birimian and Tarkwaian aquifer systems in Bosome Freho District and Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Ghana | Research Square window.SnipcartSettings = { analytics: { enabled: false } }; (function() { var accessVector = localStorage.getItem('access_vector') || ''; window.dataLayer = window.dataLayer || []; if (accessVector) { window.dataLayer.push({ user: { profile: { profileInfo: { snid: accessVector } } } }); } })(); (function(w,d,s,l,i){w[l]=w[l]||[];w[l].push({'gtm.start':new Date().getTime(),event:'gtm.js'});var f=d.getElementsByTagName(s)[0],j=d.createElement(s),dl=l!='dataLayer'?'&l='+l:'';j.async=true;j.src='https://www.googletagmanager.com/gtm.js?id='+i+dl;f.parentNode.insertBefore(j,f);})(window,document,'script','dataLayer','GTM-K279D39R'); Browse Preprints In Review Journals COVID-19 Preprints AJE Video Bytes Research Tools Research Promotion AJE Professional Editing AJE Rubriq About Preprint Platform In Review Editorial Policies Our Team Advisory Board Help Center Sign In Submit a Preprint Cite Share Download PDF Research Article Hydrochemical peculiarities and groundwater quality assessment of the Birimian and Tarkwaian aquifer systems in Bosome Freho District and Bekwai Municipality of the Ashanti Region, Ghana Louis Boansi Okofo, Nana Akyerefi Anderson, Kenneth Bedu-Addo, and 1 more This is a preprint; it has not been peer reviewed by a journal. https://doi.org/ 10.21203/rs.3.rs-534209/v1 This work is licensed under a CC BY 4.0 License Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Nov, 2021 Read the published version in Environmental Earth Sciences → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Abstract The Birimian and Tarkwaian aquifer systems are the main sources of water supply for the Bosome Freho District and Bekwai Municipality inhabitants in the Ashanti region of Ghana. A hydrogeochemical assessment was carried out to ascertain the natural baseline chemistry of the groundwaters and the factors influencing groundwater chemistry in these two areas. A multivariate statistical tool consisting of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) together with hydrochemical graphical plots was applied on 64 groundwater samples. The Q–mode HCA results were used to explain the groundwater quality flow paths where three spatial groundwater zones and water types were delineated. The first type consists of Ca–Mg–HCO 3 freshwater (recharge zone), which transitions into Ca–Na–HCO 3 or Na–Ca–HCO 3 mixed waters (intermediate zone) and finally evolve to the third type of Na–Ca–Mg–HCO 3 –Cl water (discharge zone). The study also reveals that the natural process influencing water chemistry is groundwater–rock interaction from carbonate and silicate weathering/dissolution, aided by carbonic acid from precipitation and releases concentration of Na + , Ca 2+ , Mg 2+ and HCO 3 - into the groundwaters significantly. The chloro-alkaline indices also reveal cation exchange as the principal natural factors that control groundwater chemistry in the area. Anthropogenic activities have little influence on groundwater chemistry. The quality of groundwater in the Bosome Freho District and Bekwai Municipality are suitable for irrigational use and drinking water consumption. The results obtained so far will contribute to research paucity in the study area and serve as a guide for decision-makers for improved water resources management. Hydrology Geochemistry Natural baseline chemistry Birimian aquifer system Chloro-alkaline indices Groundwater-rock interaction Full Text Cite Share Download PDF Status: Published Journal Publication published 29 Nov, 2021 Read the published version in Environmental Earth Sciences → Version 1 posted You are reading this latest preprint version Research Square lets you share your work early, gain feedback from the community, and start making changes to your manuscript prior to peer review in a journal. As a division of Research Square Company, we’re committed to making research communication faster, fairer, and more useful. We do this by developing innovative software and high quality services for the global research community. Our growing team is made up of researchers and industry professionals working together to solve the most critical problems facing scientific publishing. Also discoverable on Platform About Our Team In Review Editorial Policies Advisory Board Help Center Resources Author Services Accessibility API Access RSS feed Manage Cookie Preferences © Research Square 2026 | ISSN 2693-5015 (online) Privacy Policy Terms of Service Do Not Sell My Personal Information {"props":{"pageProps":{"initialData":{"identity":"rs-534209","acceptedTermsAndConditions":true,"allowDirectSubmit":true,"archivedVersions":[],"articleType":"Research Article","associatedPublications":[],"authors":[{"id":27487303,"identity":"8d576e67-cf30-453a-bef9-c9cc2699aeed","order_by":0,"name":"Louis Boansi 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A hydrogeochemical assessment was carried out to ascertain the natural baseline chemistry of the groundwaters and the factors influencing groundwater chemistry in these two areas.\u0026nbsp;A multivariate statistical tool consisting of principal component analysis (PCA) and hierarchical cluster analysis (HCA) together with hydrochemical graphical plots was applied on 64 groundwater samples. The Q–mode HCA results were used to explain the groundwater quality flow paths where three spatial groundwater zones and water types were delineated. The first type consists of Ca–Mg–HCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e freshwater (recharge zone), which transitions into Ca–Na–HCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e or Na–Ca–HCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e mixed waters (intermediate zone) and finally evolve to the third type of Na–Ca–Mg–HCO\u003csub\u003e3\u003c/sub\u003e–Cl water (discharge zone). 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