Physico-chemical and Biological Properties of Groundwater Quality in Rural Settlement, Nadi, Fiji
The current study investigated drinking water quality of samples taken from Arolevu village, a locality situated in Nadi, Fiji. The groundwater samples were collected and subjected to a comprehensive physicochemical and biological analysis. The analysis for the drinking water sample was conducted seasonally, six times a year, that is, three for the dry season and three for the wet season. The results retrieved from the analysis were compared to its maximum contamination levels (MCLs) based on the health-based guidelines provided by the World Health Organization (WHO). The WHO standards were used as an attribute to determine the sources of contaminants likely to be present at the study site. A degradation trend in drinking water quality in the context of climate change may lead to potential health impacts. Hence, it is important to understand seasonal variations in drinking water quality. A proper understanding of the drinking water quality through seasonal water analysis for nitrate, nitrite, potassium, calcium, magnesium and chlorine content as well as its microbiological presence to reduce preventable risks such as using calculated amounts of fertilisers and upgrading the sewerage system to alleviate drinking water contamination is devised through this study.
Aladejana, J.A., Kalin, R.M., Sentenac, P. and I. Hassan (2020). Assessing the impact of climate change on groundwater quality of the shallow coastal aquifer of Eastern Dahomey Basin, Southwestern Nigeria. Water, 12: 224.
Batley, G.E. and D. Gardner (1977). Sampling and storage of natural waters for trace metal analysis. Water Research, 11: 745-756.
Bintanja, R. (2018). The impact of Arctic warming on increased rainfall. Scientific Reports, 8: 16001.
Castells, C.B., Ràfols, C., Rosés, M. and E. Bosch (2003). Effect of temperature on pH measurements and acid– base equilibria in methanol–water mixtures. Journal of Chromatography A, 1002: 41-53.
Chaplin, B.P., Shapley, J.R. and C.J Werth (2007). Regeneration of sulfur-fouled bimetallic Pd-based catalysts Environmental Science & Technology, 41: 5491-5497.
Clement, P., Keizer, P.D., Gordon, J.D.C., Clair, T.A. and G.E.M. Hall (2007). Synoptic water quality survey of selected halifax regional municipality lakes on 28-29 March 2000. Canadian Technical Report of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, 2726: 1.
Clesceri, L.S, Greenberg, A.E. and Eaton, A.D. (1998). Standard Methods for the Examination of Water and Wastewater (20th ed), American Public Health Association, Washington, DC, 1-19 p.
Farooq, S., Hashmi, I., Qazi, I.A., Qaiser, S. and S. Rasheed (2008). Monitoring of Coliforms and chlorine residual in water distribution network of Rawalpindi, Pakistan. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 140: 339-347.
Heubeck, S., Nagels, J. and R. Craggs (2014). Variability of effluent quality and quantity on dairy farms in New Zealand. National Institute of Water and Atmospheric Research Ltd (NIWA)
Jang, C.S. (2012). Regional assessment of groundwater quality for drinking purpose. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 184: 3063-3075.
Keresztesi, A., Birsan, M.V., Nita, I.A., Bodor, Z. and R. Szep (2019). Assessing the neutralisation, wet deposition and source contributions of the precipitation chemistry over Europe during 2000–2017. Environmental Sciences Europe, 31: 1-15.
Long, S.C., Arango, P.C. and J.D. Plummer (2005). An optimized enumeration method for sorbitol-fermenting Bifidobacteria in water samples. Canadian Journal of Microbiology, 51: 413-422.
Manabe, S. (2019). Role of greenhouse gas in climate change. Tellus A: Dynamic Meteorology and Oceanography, 71: 1620078.
Mosley, L.M. (2015). Drought impacts on the water quality of freshwater systems; review and integration. Earth-Science Reviews, 140: 203-214.
Mosley, L., Singh, S. and B. Aalbersberg (2004). Water quality monitoring in Pacific Island countries (1st ed), University of the South Pacific, Suva, 20-25 p.
Munavalli, G.R. and M.S.M. Kumar (2003). Water Quality Parameter Estimation in Steady-State Distribution System. Journal of Water Resources Planning and Management, 129: 124-129.
Oki, T. and S. Kanae (2006). Global Hydrological Cycles and World Water Resources. Science, 313: 1068-1072.
Shrimali, M. and K. Singh (2001). New methods of nitrate removal from water. Environmental Pollution, 112: 351- 359.
United Nations Department of Public Information, (2008). Department of Public Information.
Weyer, P.J., Cerhan, J.R., Kross, B.C., Hallberg, G.R., Kantamneni, J., Breuer, G., Jones, M.P., Zheng, W. and C.F. Lynch (2001). Municipal drinking water nitrate level and cancer risk in older women: The Iowa Women’s Health Study. Epidemiology, 12: 327-338.
World Health Organization. (2011). Guidelines for Drinkingwater Quality, WHO Press.