Statistical Characterization of Groundwater Quality in Port Harcourt, Southern Nigeria

Abstract

This study attempts to analyze hydrochemical data and determine the chemical characteristics, the most relevant controls on the water quality, and the dominant chemical processes which control the groundwater composition using multivariate statistical approach. The study reveals that the highest correlation exist between EC and TDS which is 0.816. This means the statistical relationship between EC and TDS is strong and direct because of the positive sign that the result portrays. The level of significance is 0.000 at 95% confidence level and this is less than 0.005 of the standard significant level meaning that TDS which is taken as independent variable influences EC and this explains the 66.6% of the level of concentration of EC in the study area. The total variance explained reveals the amount of variance in the original variables accounted for by each component. The cumulative % column of the extraction sums of squared loading reveals that the extracted component explained about 78% of the variability in the original 26 variables, which considerably reduces the complexity of the data set by using this component, with only about 21% loss of information. Generally, the study provides the basic tool for sustainable groundwater management in the context of quality assessment. The methodology illustrated in the study allows the incorporation of hydrochemical information (variables) into a statistical model that takes into consideration all possible interactions between the variables. This study has provided a method to characterize groundwater quality using statistical analyses and modeling of hydrochemical data to explain the groundwater chemistry origin in the area. Generally, the study provides the basic tool for sustainable groundwater management in the context of quality assessment.