Water Quality Assessment of River Bonsa in Tarkwa, a Mining-impacted Area of Ghana

The suitability of River Bonsa for drinking, without any chemical treatment was assessed using a developed and robust water quality index (WQI), with modification for the river under study. In evaluating WQI, nine parameters in water quality, which were harmful to human health were considered. They were pH, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, total hardness, total alkalinity, chlorides, sulphates and nitrates. On the basis of the computed WQI (55.054), River Bonsa fell within the poor for drinking water category. Hence the water needs to be treated before it can be drunk directly. Intensive education on water-related diseases is also needed to inform the inhabitants living along the river bank, who use the water from the river directly without any chemical treatment.