Spatial Variation of Ground water Quality Parameters and its Suitability for Drinking at Makutopora Aquifer, Dodoma Municipality, Tanzania

Abstract

A study was conducted to benchmark the ground water quality parameters and its spatial variation from Makutopora boreholes which are found 32 km from Dodoma town. A total of 90 samples (from both deep and shallow wells) were collected and analyzed for various quality parameters. The analysis results were interpolated using statistics and Inverse Distance Weighting tool in a Geographical Information System (GIS) environment to determine their spatial variation. The r e sults indicated th a t a l l samples were w it h in the p er m i ss ible Tan z a n ian s tan d ard s , e xc e pt f or two unu s ed produ c tion b o reho l es w hich s ho wed higher levels of total h ardne ss , Electrical conductivity and total dissolved solids. However, gross pollution was found in c om m un it y shallow wells of Chiha n g a and Veyula that showed hi g h lev e ls of ni t r a te (78-82 m g / l), Manganese (1 . 05 m g / l ), low pH (5.9 8 ) and E. c ol i . (52/100 m l ). It is quite clear from this study that the ground water supplied to Dodoma is still meeting the set drinking water standards in Tanzania although aquifer deterioration was noticed which demands an urgent innovative ground water management. The results obtained in this study will therefore be helpful for future monitoring and sustainable ground water quality management in the Makutopora sub basin.