Origin and mechanisms of high salinity in Hombolo Dam and groundwater in Dodoma municipality Tanzania, revealed
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Date
2017
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Springer
Abstract
The Hombolo dam (HD), in central Tanzania, is a shallow reservoir characterized by high salinity that limits itsuse for human activities. The origin of the salinity, mechanisms of reaching and concentrating in the dam remain unclear. These were assessed using hydrogeo chemical facies, water type evolutions and mapping. The source of HD salinity was identified to be shallow groundwater (SG) and runoff from a seasonal floodplain with NaCl-rich lithological mat-erails,alongLittleKinyasungweRiverthatfeedsthedam.TheNaCl-rich lithological units, about 5–7 km upstream of the dam, were highly concentrated with NaCl to the extent that the local community was commercially separating table salt from them. The physicochemical parameters from these NaCl-richlithological materials were well represented in HD and nearby groundwater sources, which suggests active water interactions. Water type evolution and surface hydrology assessments clearly showed that SG in the salty-floodplain was influenced by evaporation (ET) and was periodically carried to the HD. Clearly; HD water had high chemical similarity with the nearby SG. This agrees with previous studies that HD is partly fed by the local aquifer. However, this is the first attempt at mapping its physical origin. The origin of HD salinity was further supported by the spatial distribution of electrical conductivity (EC), where very high EC (up to21,230lScm-1) was recorded in SG within the NaCl-richlithological unit while water sources far away from the NaCl-rich materials had much lower EC values. Thus, the study disagrees with previous conclusions that HD salinity was sorely due to high dam surface ET but is primarily due to geological reasons. Comparisons of HD with a nearby Matumbulu dam (MD), another earthen dam in climatologically similar settings, reveals that MD water was less saline/mineralised. This further shows that HD high salinity is most likely a geologic phenomenon, but local climatic factors, namely high ET, decreasing rainfall and warming trends are likely to have concentrated the salts further. Although HD is widely/ideally used for grape vine irrigation, it was clearly revealed that its prolonged usage would potentially affect the soil and grape productivity due to high salinity.
Description
Full Text Article.
Also available at: 10.1007/s13201-017-0569-6
Keywords
Hombolo dam, Salinity, Groundwater, Livelihood, Dodoma, Tanzania, Shalow groundwater
Citation
Shemsanga, C., Muzuka, A. N. N., Martz, L., Komakech, H. C., Elisante, E., Kisaka, M., & Ntuza, C. (2017). Origin and mechanisms of high salinity in Hombolo Dam and groundwater in Dodoma municipality Tanzania, revealed. Applied Water Science, 7(6), 2883-2905.