Assessment of water quality and primary productivity
characteristics of Volta Lake in Ghana
Accepted 15th July, 2013
A.Y. Karikari*, F. Akpabey and E. K. Abban
CSIR Water Research Institute, P.O. Box AH 38 Achimota, Accra,
Ghana.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
aykarikari@hotmail.com;
Tel: +233-20-8184215. Fax: +233-302-777170.
Physico-chemical and primary productivity studies were
undertaken at the northern reverine segment of the Volta Lake,
Yeji, at two southernmost lacustrine areas (Kpando-Tokor and
Dzemeni) and one below the dam (Kpong Headpond). The studies
were conducted from June 2006 to April 2008 at different depths
(0, 2, 4, 6 and 8 m). The mean surface dissolved oxygen levels
at the 4 stations were comparable and varied between 7.3 and 8.1
mgL-1. Dissolved oxygen decreased with increasing depth but with
considerable amount of oxygen detected even at 12 m depth,
indicating a well oxygenated Lake. Mean pH values ranged from
6.8 to 7.7. Transparency values ranged from 20 to 320 cm with
Yeji recording relatively low values. Compared with earlier
studies, transparency had reduced over the years at Yeji due to
increase in suspended particles as a result of human activities.
Concentrations of chemical constituents at 100 m from the shores
of the Lake were similar to that of 500 m, suggesting a well
mixed Lake. Generally, the nutrient levels in the Volta Lake
were low indicating that the Lake is not eutrophic. The average
values of temperature, pH and dissolved oxygen are considered
suitable for normal aquatic life. A total of 73 algal taxa were
encountered during the study. These include 37 Green algae (Chlorophyta),
50.68%; 16 Blue-Green algae (Cyanophyta) 21.92% and 20 Diatoms (Bacillariophyta)
27.40%. Yeji was richer in Green algae (27 taxa) compared to
Dzemeni and Kpando-Tokor (24 and 23 each) which were similar in
green algae diversity. The Blue-Green algae and the Diatoms were
about evenly occurring at the three stations on the Lake. Kpong
Headpond was richer in Green and Blue-Green algae compared to
stations on the main lake.
Key words:
Physico-chemical, water quality, primary
productivity, algae, diatoms, Lake Volta.
This is an open access article
published under the terms of the
Creative Commons Attribution
License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and
reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is
properly cited.
Cite this article as:
Karikari AY, Akpabey F, Abban EK (2013). Assessment of water quality and primary
productivity characteristics of Volta Lake in Ghana. Acad. J. Environ. Sci.
1(5): 088-103.
