Evaluating the suitability of groundwater for irrigational purposes in some selected districts of the Upper West region of Ghana

Groundwater is a very important asset to the people of the Upper West region of the Ghana where majority of them are farmers. Groundwater serves as the most reliable source of water for their domestic and agricultural activities. This study was aimed at assessing the suitability of groundwater for irrigational purposes in some selected communities of five districts where farming activities are very intensive. Twenty-three groundwater samples were collected and analysed for major anions and cations. Physicochemical parameters such as electrical conductivity (EC) and total dissolved solids (TDS) were also measured. From the results of the analyses and measurements, the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation were evaluated based on the TDS, EC, percentage sodium (%Na), sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), permeability index (PI), residual sodium carbonate (RSC), magnesium adsorption ratio (MAR), Kelly’s ratio (KR) and chloro-alkaline Indices (CAI). US salinity laboratory diagram and Wilcox diagrams were also applied. The EC results show that the groundwater in the study area can be classified as none and slight to moderate. According to the US salinity diagram, groundwater in the study area falls within the low salinity-low sodium hazard and medium salinity-low sodium hazard class. The %Na and the resulting Wilcox diagram also classify the groundwater as excellent to good and good to permissible. The groundwater in the study area is generally good for irrigation purposes. However, there are few instances which are problematic and would require special irrigation methods.