| dc.description.abstract | This paper assesses the impacts of farmers’ intensive use of agrochemicals (fertilizers
and pesticides) on groundwater quality in the Kahe catchment. Samples were collected during
the wet and dry seasons of the year 2018 and analyzed for the presence of agrochemicals in the
water. Groundwater chemistry was dominated by magnesium-sodium-bicarbonate (Mg-Na-HCO3−).
The cations levels were in the trend of Mg2+ >Na+ > Ca2+ > K+, whereas anions were HCO3− > Cl− >
SO42− for both seasons. The NO3− had an average value of about 18.40 ± 4.04 and 7.6 ± 1.7 mg/L in
the wet and dry season, respectively. Elevated levels of nitrate, sulfate, phosphate, and ammonium
were found in water samples collected near the large-scale sugarcane plantation in the catchment.
For both seasons, Pb, Cd, Fe, Mn, Zn and Cu concentrations averaged approximately 0.08 ± 0.03,
0.11 ± 0.03, 0.16 ± 0.02, 0.11 ± 0.01, 0.46 ± 0.05, and 0.55 ± 0.02 mg/L, respectively. On the other hand,
the concentrations were higher in shallow wells than in the deep boreholes. Pesticides’ residues were
below the detection limit in all sampled groundwater. The findings from this study provide important
information for intervention in groundwater quality management in Kahe Catchment, Tanzania | en_US |
