Evaluation of Groundwater Suitability for Domestic and Irrigational Purposes: A Case Study from Mingoa River Basin, Yaounde, Cameroon

A baseline study involving analyses of subsurface water samples from the Mingoa river basin (longitude: 11 degree 30'E; latitude: 3 degree 52'N) in migmatitic complex in Yaounde Cameroon (central Africa) was carried out to assess their suitability for drinking, domestic and agricultural purposes. Study results show that pH is ranged between 5.1 less than or equal to pH less than or equal to 5.8 and then, induces acidic waters. Groundwater samples are generally characterized by low conductivity values, of which 100% are within the range (55 less than or equal to EC less than or equal to 1500 mu S/cm). The mean values of the major cations (Ca super(2+), Mg super(2+), Na super(+), K super(+)) and anions (SO super(2)- sub(4), Cl super(-), HCO super(-) sub(3)) are all within the World Health Organization (WHO) standards. Two of the springs sampled have nitrate (NO super(-) sub(3)) contamination. Even though NO super(-) sub(3) contamination and acidic waters exist in some of the springs, the majority of the springs are excellent for agricultural and domestic purposes. Assessment of the groundwater for agricultural irrigation revealed two main categories. These are low salinity-low sodicity (C1-S1) and medium salinity-low sodicity (C2-S1), using the US Salinity Laboratory (USSL) classification scheme. As much as all of the samples plotted in the "excellent to good" and "good to permissible" categories on the Wilcox diagram. The groundwater in the study area may therefore be regarded as good for irrigation activities. The major identifiable geochemical processes responsible for the evolution of the various ions are mineral weathering, chemical reactions and anthropogenic activities.