| dc.description.abstract | More than 25 % of Tanzanian depends on
groundwater as the main source of water for drinking,
irrigation and industrial activities. The current trend of land
use may lead to groundwater contamination and thus
increasing risks associated with the usage of contaminated
water. Nitrate is one of the contaminants resulting largely
from anthropogenic activities that may find its way to the
aquifers and thus threatening the quality of groundwater.
Elevated levels of nitrate in groundwater may lead to
human health and environmental problems. The current
trend of land use in Tanzania associated with high population
growth, poor sanitation facilities and fertilizer usage
may lead to nitrate contamination of groundwater. This
paper therefore aimed at providing an overview of to what
extent human activities have altered the concentration of
nitrate in groundwater aquifers in Tanzania. The concentration
of nitrate in Tanzanian groundwater is variable
with highest values observable in Dar es Salaam (up to
477.6 mg/l), Dodoma (up to 441.1 mg/l), Tanga (above
100 mg/l) and Manyara (180 mg/l). Such high values can
be attributed to various human activities including onsite
sanitation in urban centres and agricultural activities in
rural areas. Furthermore, there are some signs of increasing
concentration of nitrate in groundwater with time in some
areas in response to increased human activities. However, reports on levels and trends of nitrate in groundwater in
many regions of the country are lacking. For Tanzania to
appropriately address the issue of groundwater contamination,
a deliberate move to determine nitrate concentration
in groundwater is required, as well as protection
of recharge basins and improvement of onsite sanitation
systems. | en_US |
