Water is vital for billions of people, but its quality and availability are threatened globally. Increasing pollution, overuse, and climate change are straining precious water resources. Thus mitigating contamination of water resources is vital for achieving the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal for universal access to safe drinking water by 2030. This chapter discusses the challenges of water contamination from both natural and human-induced factors, with a special focus on groundwater resources, as groundwater is a major source of drinking water in numerous populous countries. It highlights the varying issues of safe groundwater accessibility in different regions of the world, with detailed case studies on groundwater water contamination from Tanzania, India, Bolivia, and Bangladesh.

Inadequate data and spatial dependence in the observations during geochemical studies are among the disturbing conditions when estimating environmental factors contributing to the local variability in the pollutants of interest. Usually, spatial dependence occurs due to the researcher 's imperfection on the natural scale of occurrence which affects the sampling strategy. As a consequence, observations on the study variable are significantly correlated in space. In this study, the machine learning approach was developed and used to study the environmental factors controlling the local variability in fluoride concentrations in drinking water sources of northern Tanzania within the East African Rift Valley. The approach constituted the use of geographical information systems (GIS) technology, exploratory spatial data analysis (ESDA) methods, and spatial regression modeling at a local level. The environmental variables used to study the local variation in fluoride concentration include topography, tectonic processes, water exchanges between hydrogeological layers during lateral movement, mineralization processes (EC), and water pH. The study was based on 20 local spatial regimes determined using GIS based on water sources density in the four hydrogeological environments. Specifically, the nonparametric (one-way Kruskal-Wallis sum ranks test and Multiple Comparisons Dunn Test), spatial statistics (Global Moran 's I statistic), ordinary least squares (OLS) regression, and spatial lag models were used to quantify the effects of topography, tectonic processes, water exchange between hydrogeological environments and water physiochemical parameters (pH and EC) on the spatial variability of fluoride concentrations in drinking water sources at a local scale. In order of significance, the local spatial variation in fluoride concentration is influenced by the EC, topography, tectonic processes, pH, and water exchange between hydrogeological layers during water movement. The results presented in this paper are crucial for safe water access planning in naturally contaminated aquifer systems.

The study evaluates the performance of bauxite for arsenic (As) elucidation from water. The raw, calcined, and alkaline ferric-bauxite composite was applied in batch experiments to evaluate the influence of dosage, initial As concentrations, contact time, and pH. The X-ray diffraction studies revealed significant content of gibbsite (Al(OH)3 in the bauxite. Visual MINTEQ simulation indicated As removal increases with an increase in dosage, the pH range between acidic and near neutral favors maximum removal. The 100 g/L calcined bauxite at pH 7.4 removed 99.9% As to below 0.001 mg/L after 20 minutes from an initial concentration of 1 mg/L. The raw 100 g/L bauxite at pH 6 removed 99.86% As to below 0.003 mg/L after 1 hour from an initial As concentration of 1 mg/L. The alkaline ferric-bauxite composite used for treatment of 2 mg/L As raised pH from pH 4 to 12, and removal efficiency declined to 31% after 4 hours. Aluminium (Al) was sensitive to pH, and about 435 mg/L was released in water at pH 12. Despite the decrease in specific surface area during calcination at 500 °C, the As removal was more improved for the calcined bauxite. The removal capacity was high, up to 6 mg/g, when less dosage of 0.5 g/L bauxite was used. The kinetic reaction process using 5 g/L reaction obeys pseudo-secondorder with R2 of 0.99 while its removal isotherm obeys Langmuir with R2 of 0.98 and is confirmed favorable.

Fluoride is essential for the human body and a global groundwater contaminant (the recommended WHO limit is 1.5mg/L). The mobilization and genesis of fluoride depend on fluoride-bearing rocks (e.g., fluorite, fluor-apatite, biotite, etc.) that are a part of the natural geogenic process, which later contaminate the groundwater. More specifically, the dissolution process (via infiltration), lateral water flow, ion exchange, climatic factors, and chemical weathering of “rocks and minerals” are highly responsible for the release of elevated concentrations of fluoride in groundwater. The intake of fluoride-contaminated groundwater and anthropogenically produced daily usable products (e.g., dental products, foods, etc.) causes physiological and metabolic disturbances in animals and humans. However, this fluoride can be removed effectively from water by technology-enhanced processes (e.g., reverse osmosis, nano-filtration, coagulation, adsorption, electrochemical, membrane distillation, ion exchange, and precipitation). This, in turn, means that climate-dependent contamination, mobilization mechanism, and bioaccumulation will be essential for selecting efficient, cost-effective green technologies. Adequate information should be provided to overcome people’s wrong perceptions concerning fluoride-related issues, especially in lower socioeconomic groups. Policy interventions are required to improve the quality of life in the developing world, where there is a lack of awareness about health issues. Extensive research in this field can identify fluoride “hot spots” (through regular monitoring) and removal technique(s) utilizing public-private sector collaboration.

This study evaluates gypsum behavior for arsenic (As) reduction from water. The parameters, such as initial As concentration, contact time, gypsum dosage, and pH, were evaluated in batch experimentsfor natural water and As solution. VisualMINTEQ simulations reveal that the removal of As increases with the increase in pH and dosage.Application of calcined gypsum at pH 10 adsorbed Asto below 10 µg/L after 3 hours from initial As concentration of 1 mg/L. Application of calcined gypsum for treatment of natural water shows As(V) reduction to 0.019mg/L (84% removal) and As(III) to below 0.1 µg/L (98% removal). Theexperimental data fitted pseudo-second-order with a correlation coefficient R2 of 0.99. The Freundlich isotherm explained the experimental result better with R20.99 and 1/n of 0.73. Intraparticle diffusion was better explained with the dosage of 50 g/L calcined gypsum applied to removeAs concentration of 5.3 mg/L.The linear regression modelshows pH as a significant parameter for As removal when100 g/L calcined gypsum was applied. Gypsum is a locally available resource in Tanzania that stabilizes As contamination below 1 mg/L from drinking water sources around gold mining areas.

Geogenic contamination of groundwater due to elevated fluoride (F-) concentrations is a significant issue worldwide (including in Tanzania). The present study focussed to assess the adsorption capacity of thermally treated (calcined) bauxite to remove the F- from contaminated water. Characterization of bauxite by X-ray fluorescence spectroscopy (XRF) revealed Al2O3, Fe2O3, and SiO2 as the major oxides in both raw and calcined bauxite. The major mineral phase in the raw bauxite was gibbsite, which disappeared after calcination. The optimum calcination temperature, dosage and contact time for F- removal by calcined bauxite were 400 degrees C, 40 g/L and 8 min, respectively. The experimental data revealed Freundlich isotherm as the best model to fit the F -adsorption process with kF and 1/n being 0.1537 mg/g and 0.8607, respectively. The pseudo-second-order ki-netic and intra-particle diffusion models explained well the F- adsorption process with the rate constants of 115.43 g/mg min and 0.0025 mg/g min0.5, respectively. The values of Delta G, Delta H and Delta S indicate the F- adsorption on bauxite surface indicated that the adsorption process was spontaneous, endothermic and structural changes occurred during the adsorption process. The F- adsorption under optimum conditions lowered the pH and F -concentration to WHO and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) standards.

Arsenic (As) removal studies were carried out through batch experiments to investigate the performance of the locally available calcined magnesite mineral rocks from Tanzania. Natural water from a stream source in Tanzania and the prepared synthetic water at the laboratory were used for the studies. Parameters such as initial As concentration, calcined magnesite dosage, contact time and pH were evaluated for As removal using an overhead rea×2 shaker. Arsenic concentration was reduced from 5.3 to 1.1 mg/L As(V) at 180 min when 0.5 g/L calcined magnesite was applied to a synthetic water sample, whereas the concentration of 117 μg/L As(V) and 5.2 μg/L As(III) was reduced to below 0.1 μg/L in natural water. An increase in calcined magnesite dosage resulted in increased As removal up to below 0.01 mg/L. The calcined magnesite raised the pH of the water sample from 6.8 to 10 when the applied dosage increased between 0.002 g/L and 0.05 g/L. The pH was constant at around 10 even when the amount of 0.05 g/L was added 2000 times. Despite the high pH, the amount of magnesium released in water was low. The calcination of magnesite at 500 ◦C increased surface area by 4 times as compared to the natural magnesite and X-ray diffraction showed presence of MgCO3 phase as the dominant phase at this temperature. The reaction kinetics of As removal on 0.5 g/L calcined magnesite fitted with the pseudo-second-order (R2 = 0.96). Reaction isotherm was strongly fitted with Freundlich isotherm (R2 = 0.98). Linear regression and artificial intelligence neural network showed the As removal was influenced by both contact time and pH. Arsenic can be removed from As water using calcined magnesite and will be suitable for water treatment around gold mining areas. 

In the past two decades, several studies on arsenic (As) occurrence in the environment, particularly in surface and groundwater systems have reported high levels of As in some African countries. Arsenic concentrations up to 10,000 mu g/L have been reported in surface water systems, caused by human activities such as mining, industrial effluents, and municipal solid waste disposals. Similarly, concentrations up to 1760 mu g/L have been reported in many groundwater systems which account for approximately 60% of drinking water demand in rural Africa. Naturally, As is mobilized in groundwater systems through weathering processes and dissolution of As bearing minerals such as sulfides (pyrite, arsenopyrite, and chalcopyrite), iron oxides, other mineralized granitic and gneissic rocks, and climate change factors triggering As release in groundwater. Recently, public health studies in some African countries such as Tanzania and Ethiopia have reported high levels of As in human tissues such as toenails as well as in urine among pregnant women exposed to As contaminated groundwater, respectively. In urine, concentrations up to 150 mu g/L were reported among pregnant women depending on As contaminated drinking water within Geita gold mining areas in the north-western part of Tanzania. However, the studies on As occurrence, and mobilization in African water systems, as well as related health effects are limited, due to the lack of awareness. The current study aims to gather information on the occurrence of As in different environmental compartments, its spatial variability, public health problems and the potential remediation options of As in water sources. The study also aims at creating awareness of As contamination in Africa and its removal using locally available materials.

Geogenic contamination of groundwater is frequently associated with gold mining activities and related to drinking water quality problems worldwide. In Tanzania, elevated levels of trace elements (TEs) have been reported in drinking water sources within the Lake Victoria Basin, posing a serious health risk to communities. The present study aims to assess the groundwater quality with a focus on the concentration levels of geogenic contaminants in groundwater around the Lake Victoria goldfields in Geita and Mara districts. The water samples were collected from community drinking water sources and were analysed for physiochemical parameters (pH, EC, Eh), major ions, and trace elements. The analysed major ions included Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, SO42-, HCO3- and Cl- whereas the trace elements were As, Al, Li, Ba, B, Ti, V, U, Zr, Sr, Si, Mn Mo, Fe, Ni, Zn, Cr, Pb, Cd, and V. The present study revealed that the concentration levels of the major ions were mostly within the World Health Organization (WHO) drinking water standards in the following order of their relative abundance; for cations, Ca2+-Na+ >Mg2+ >K+ and for anions was HCO3- > SO42- > NO3-, Cl- > PO43-. Statistical and geochemical modelling software such as 31 Studio', IBM SPSS, geochemical workbench, visual MINTEQ were used to understand the groundwater chemistry and evaluate its suitability for drinking purpose. The concentration of As in groundwater sources varies between below detection limit (bdl) and 300 mu g/L, with highest levels in streams followed by shallow wells and boreholes. In approximately 48% of the analysed samples, As concentration exceeded the WHO drinking water guideline and Tanzania Bureau of Standards (TBS) guideline for drinking water value of 10 mu g/L. The concentration of the analyzed TEs and mean values of physicochemical parameters were below the guideline limits based on WHO and TBS standards. The Canadian Council of Ministries of the Environment Water Quality Index (CCME WQI) shows that the overall water quality is acceptable with minimum threats of deviation from natural conditions. We recommend further geochemical exploration and the periodic risk assessment of groundwater in mining areas where high levels of As were recorded.

The population of the semi-arid areas of the countries in the East African Rift Valley (EARV) is faced with serious problems associatedwith the availability and the quality of the drinkingwater. In these areas, the drinking water supply largely relies on groundwater characterised by elevated fluoride concentration (> 1.5 mg/L), resulting from interactions with the surrounding alkaline volcanic rocks. This geochemical anomaly is often associated with the presence of other naturally occurring potentially toxic elements (PTEs), such as As, Mo, U, V, which are known to cause adverse effects on human health. This study reports on the occurrence of such PTEs in the groundwater on the populated flanks of Mt. Meru, an active volcano situated in the EARV.

Our results show that the majority of analysed PTEs (Al, As, Ba, Cd, Cr, Cu, Fe,Mn, Ni, Se, Sr, Pb, and Zn) are within the acceptable limits for drinking purpose in samples collected from wells, springs and tap systems, suggesting that there is no immediate health risk associated with these PTEs. However, some of the samples were found to exceed the WHO tolerance limit for U (> 30 μg/L) and Mo (> 70 μg/L). The sample analysis also revealed that in someof the collected samples, the concentrations of total dissolved solids, Na⁺ and K⁺ exceed the permissible limits. The concerning levels of major parameters and PTEs were found to be associated with areas covered with debris avalanche deposits on the northeast flank, and volcanic ash and alluvial deposits on the southwest flanks of the volcano. The study highlights the need to extend the range of elements monitored in the regional groundwater and make a more routine measurement of PTEs to ensure drinking water safety and effective water management measures.