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Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods

Received: 20 January 2022     Accepted: 14 February 2022     Published: 25 February 2022
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Abstract

Located on the Atlantic coast, the city of Pointe-Noire is the economic capital of the Republic of Congo. It enjoys strong industrial activity, particularly oil, with the presence of a refinery and onshore drilling in its surroundings. The steady growth of its population leads to an increase in its drinking water supply needs, produced mainly from the exploitation of its aquifer system. Thus, in view of the growth of its human activities, the interest of permanent monitoring of the quality of its groundwater is becoming more and more great. The present study aims to assess the physicochemical quality of the groundwater in the AQ2 aquifer of the Pointe-Noire region during the period from 2017 to 2020, and to understand the processes that are at the origin of the mineralization of these waters. To this end, we obtained from the water supply company, La Congolaise Des Eaux (LCDE) seventy-five (75) water analysis reports bulletins representing the average values of thirteen (13) physicochemical parameters in each of the 75 boreholes used for this study so as to homogeneously cover the entire city. The Piper diagram revealed that the waters are dominated by three types of facies: K-Na-Cl, Mg-Ca-SO4-Cl and Mg-Ca-HCO3. The presence of the K-Na-Cl facies is due to the high levels of chlorides and sodium in the water-rock. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that the mineralization of these waters results in the hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) analysis made it possible to determine the parameters that categorize the different classes from 2017 to 2020, these are TDS, EC and TH and to a lesser extent Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-and TAC. Overall, the quality of the groundwater is good according to standards WHO, but in some cases requires specific treatment before supply.

Published in Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science (Volume 11, Issue 1)
DOI 10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11
Page(s) 1-13
Creative Commons

This is an Open Access article, distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/), which permits unrestricted use, distribution and reproduction in any medium or format, provided the original work is properly cited.

Copyright

Copyright © The Author(s), 2022. Published by Science Publishing Group

Keywords

Groundwater, AQ2 Aquifer, Hydrogeochemical Facies, Principal Component Analysis, Ascending Hierarchical Classification

References
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    Frederic Balounta Ngoma, Christian Tathy, Romain Richard Niere, Laurent Matini. (2022). Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods. Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science, 11(1), 1-13. https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11

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    ACS Style

    Frederic Balounta Ngoma; Christian Tathy; Romain Richard Niere; Laurent Matini. Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods. J. Water Resour. Ocean Sci. 2022, 11(1), 1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11

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    AMA Style

    Frederic Balounta Ngoma, Christian Tathy, Romain Richard Niere, Laurent Matini. Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods. J Water Resour Ocean Sci. 2022;11(1):1-13. doi: 10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11

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  • @article{10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11,
      author = {Frederic Balounta Ngoma and Christian Tathy and Romain Richard Niere and Laurent Matini},
      title = {Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods},
      journal = {Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science},
      volume = {11},
      number = {1},
      pages = {1-13},
      doi = {10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11},
      url = {https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11},
      eprint = {https://article.sciencepublishinggroup.com/pdf/10.11648.j.wros.20221101.11},
      abstract = {Located on the Atlantic coast, the city of Pointe-Noire is the economic capital of the Republic of Congo. It enjoys strong industrial activity, particularly oil, with the presence of a refinery and onshore drilling in its surroundings. The steady growth of its population leads to an increase in its drinking water supply needs, produced mainly from the exploitation of its aquifer system. Thus, in view of the growth of its human activities, the interest of permanent monitoring of the quality of its groundwater is becoming more and more great. The present study aims to assess the physicochemical quality of the groundwater in the AQ2 aquifer of the Pointe-Noire region during the period from 2017 to 2020, and to understand the processes that are at the origin of the mineralization of these waters. To this end, we obtained from the water supply company, La Congolaise Des Eaux (LCDE) seventy-five (75) water analysis reports bulletins representing the average values of thirteen (13) physicochemical parameters in each of the 75 boreholes used for this study so as to homogeneously cover the entire city. The Piper diagram revealed that the waters are dominated by three types of facies: K-Na-Cl, Mg-Ca-SO4-Cl and Mg-Ca-HCO3. The presence of the K-Na-Cl facies is due to the high levels of chlorides and sodium in the water-rock. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that the mineralization of these waters results in the hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) analysis made it possible to determine the parameters that categorize the different classes from 2017 to 2020, these are TDS, EC and TH and to a lesser extent Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-and TAC. Overall, the quality of the groundwater is good according to standards WHO, but in some cases requires specific treatment before supply.},
     year = {2022}
    }
    

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  • TY  - JOUR
    T1  - Physicochemical Characterization of Waters in Aquifer AQ2 of the Pointe-Noire Region: Application of Multivariate Statistical Analysis Methods
    AU  - Frederic Balounta Ngoma
    AU  - Christian Tathy
    AU  - Romain Richard Niere
    AU  - Laurent Matini
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    DO  - 10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11
    T2  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JF  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
    JO  - Journal of Water Resources and Ocean Science
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    EP  - 13
    PB  - Science Publishing Group
    SN  - 2328-7993
    UR  - https://doi.org/10.11648/j.wros.20221101.11
    AB  - Located on the Atlantic coast, the city of Pointe-Noire is the economic capital of the Republic of Congo. It enjoys strong industrial activity, particularly oil, with the presence of a refinery and onshore drilling in its surroundings. The steady growth of its population leads to an increase in its drinking water supply needs, produced mainly from the exploitation of its aquifer system. Thus, in view of the growth of its human activities, the interest of permanent monitoring of the quality of its groundwater is becoming more and more great. The present study aims to assess the physicochemical quality of the groundwater in the AQ2 aquifer of the Pointe-Noire region during the period from 2017 to 2020, and to understand the processes that are at the origin of the mineralization of these waters. To this end, we obtained from the water supply company, La Congolaise Des Eaux (LCDE) seventy-five (75) water analysis reports bulletins representing the average values of thirteen (13) physicochemical parameters in each of the 75 boreholes used for this study so as to homogeneously cover the entire city. The Piper diagram revealed that the waters are dominated by three types of facies: K-Na-Cl, Mg-Ca-SO4-Cl and Mg-Ca-HCO3. The presence of the K-Na-Cl facies is due to the high levels of chlorides and sodium in the water-rock. The Principal Component Analysis (PCA) indicates that the mineralization of these waters results in the hydrolysis of silicate minerals. The Ascending Hierarchical Classification (AHC) analysis made it possible to determine the parameters that categorize the different classes from 2017 to 2020, these are TDS, EC and TH and to a lesser extent Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-and TAC. Overall, the quality of the groundwater is good according to standards WHO, but in some cases requires specific treatment before supply.
    VL  - 11
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    ER  - 

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Author Information
  • Laboratory of Mechanics Energy and Engineering, Higher National Polytechnics School, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Congo

  • Laboratory of Mechanics Energy and Engineering, Higher National Polytechnics School, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Congo

  • Laboratory of Mechanics Energy and Engineering, Higher National Polytechnics School, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Congo

  • Department of Exact Sciences, Higher Teacher’s Training School, Marien Ngouabi University, Brazzaville, Congo

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