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Titre : Groundwater Flow and Quality of Coastal Aquifers Case Study of Mombasa North Coast, Kenya

Auteur (s)  : Temitope Idowu
Editeur  : Grin Verlag
Categorie : Master
Date de parution : 2017
Pages : 114

Résumé partiel
Groundwater is the most readily available source of freshwater in the hydrologic cycle, hence the importance of aquifers. However, these groundwater resources are prone to pollution in the wake of anthropogenic influences, over-exploitation and climate change related activities. Coastal aquifers are faced with additional unique problems of seawater intrusion which may be aggravated by climate change related challenges like sea level rise and coastal flooding. The aquifer of Mombasa, a coastal city, home to East Africa’s busiest seaport is not an exception to these challenges. This study investigated the groundwater flow, quality and vulnerability to seawater intrusion of the coastal aquifer of Mombasa North Coast. This is a 74.2 km2 region bounded by the Indian Ocean on the East, by creeks on the North and South and high elevated hills on the West. The hydrogeological characteristics, salinity and extent of seawater intrusion in the study area were assessed using statistical and geospatial methods. The statistical methods include the use of correlation coefficients, cross plots and Piper plots. GALDIT overlay index was used to assess the vulnerability of the study area with the aid of ArcGIS while groundwater flow and solute transport were simulated with the aid of MODFLOW, MT3D and SEAWAT packages. In addition to secondary data obtained, three phases of field data such as static water levels and water quality parameters from boreholes/shallow wells were collected at pre-monsoon, the peak of rainy season, and post-monsoon in 2016. This was followed by laboratory analysis for Na, K, Mg, Ca, Cl, HCO3 and SO4 concentrations in the water samples obtained from the field. The results show that the study area is characterised by shallow unconfined aquifer with groundwater heads ranging from -1 to 33m above mean sea level irrespective of the seasons. The EC and TDS values were observed to have near perfect correlations with each other and generally high, as over 94% of the water samples exceeded WHO drinking water limit of 750 µS/cm and 500mg/l respectively.

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