Groundwater Quality: Zambia

This is one of a series of information sheets prepared for each country in which WaterAid works. The sheets
aim to identify inorganic constituents of significant risk to health that may occur in groundwater in the
country in question. The purpose of the sheets is to provide guidance to WaterAid Country Office staff on
targeting efforts on water-quality testing and to encourage further thinking in the organisation on water-
quality issues.

Background reductions in world copper prices. Manufacturing

has become progressively more important
Zambia is a landlocked country in southern Africa, (contributing to around 43% of GDP in 1990;
lying to the south of Congo and north of Aquastat, 1995) and agriculture has also increased in
Zimbabwe, with a total land area of around recent years. Today, around 40% of the land is used
752,600 square kilometres (Figure 1). Terrain as permanent pasture and 7% as arable. Principal
consists mainly of high plateau with some crops include corn, sorghum, rice, peanuts and
mountains and hills. Elevation varies from greater tobacco. Around 58% of the Zambian population
than 2300 m in the Mafinga Hills on the north-east lives in rural areas.
national border, to 329 m in the valley of the
Zambezi River (Figure 1). The western part of the Geology
country consists mainly of plateau, typically at
1000–1300 m above sea level. The terrain is more The geology of Zambia is dominated by crystalline
variable in the east. The Muchinga Mountains form rocks, although a number of sedimentary sequences
a north-east to south-west ridge (up to 1788 m) in also occur. The rock types present have been
the Central and Northern Provinces. Deep valleys divided into four main units (UN, 1989):
occur along the Luangwa and Zambezi Rivers in
i) Ancient (Precambrian) crystalline basement
south-eastern Zambia . Topographic depressions
rocks comprising gneisses and granitic rocks
also occur in parts of Northern and Luapala
with some metasediments – mainly eastern and
Provinces, where many of the low-lying areas are
southern parts of the country;
occupied by swamps, of which the largest is the
Bangweulu swamp (Figure 1). ii) the Katanga System (Upper Precambrian to
Lower Cambrian) comprising metamorphosed
Zambia’s climate is tropical, although climatic
sediments including shales, dolomites and
variations relate to altitude. Annual rainfall averages
quartzites. The lower part of the sequence has
1010 mm (range 750–1400 mm) and increases
abundant copper deposits, extending from the
progressively from south to north. A distinct rainy
extreme north-west, through the Copper Belt to
season occurs during October–April. Average daily
Southern Province. The sequence is also
temperatures are around 18–20ºC during the cool
enriched in other metals such as cobalt, zinc and
dry season (May–August) and 35ºC during the hot
lead and has been extensively mined in some
dry season (September–November), with an average
areas, especially the Copper Belt. Shales of the
of 30ºC during the rainy season (UN, 1989).
Katanga System occur extensively in the
Zambia has five major river systems: the upper Bangweulu area and the west of the Copper Belt;
Zambezi in the west, the Kafue and Luangwa
iii) the Karoo System (Upper Carboniferous–
Rivers, a small drainage area of the Tanganyika in
Jurassic) comprising sandstone, shale, limestone
the north and the Luapula River which drains
and conglomerate with some coal seams –
northwards into Congo. Water courses are prone to
mainly in Southern Province and along the
running dry seasonally. Zambia also has three large
Luangwa valley. In addition, Karoo volcanic
lakes. Lake Bangweulu lies in the north-east, Lake
rocks (basalts) underlie the Kalahari sediments in
Mweru lies on the border with Congo and Lake
Western Province;
Tanganyika lies on the northern border with
Tanzania (Figure 1). iv) the Kalahari Formation (Cenozoic) comprising
loose sands, gravels, clays and marls up to 150 m
Much of Zambia’s economy is based on mining and
thick – in the west and south-west (mainly
mineral processing, although this has declined
Western Province).
markedly over the last few decades following
1
Figure 1. Location map of Zambia (courtesy of The General Libraries, The University of Texas at
Austin).

In addition, extensive alluvium (up to 50 m thick) The second best aquifer is found in the coarser
has been deposited in the Banweulu depression and sediments of the Kalahari system where
along the floors of the Kafue and Luangwe valleys groundwater yields are around 10–20 l/s. Large
(MacDonald and Partners, 1990). The deep valleys parts of the Kalahari system are poorly productive
of the Zambezi and Luangwa Rivers along the however due to abundance of fine-grained material.
south-eastern border compose part of the major Within the Karoo system, coarse sediments
East African Rift system. (sandstones, conglomerates) form the best available
aquifers.
Groundwater Availability
Groundwater is of much more restricted occurrence
There has been growing demand on the available in the crystalline basement rocks which are the
water resources in Zambia and groundwater use is dominate rock types. Consequently, water
increasing steadily. Today, some 9% of water usage availability is a more significant problem in these
is from groundwater and groundwater provides areas. Nonetheless, groundwater is present within
28% of domestic water supply. The best aquifers in fractures and joints in the basement rocks and
Zambia occur within the limestone and dolomite within the weathered overburden, which is typically
horizons of the Katanga system. Yields in these are of the order of 10–15 m thick, but up to 30 m in
highest in the top 30 m or so of the sediment strata places.
where fissures are best developed. These aquifers
provide a significant proportion of the water supply Sporadic thermal or saline springs occur in parts of
for the municipalities of Lusaka, Kabwe and Ndole Southern, Central and Eastern Provinces
in particular, where boreholes yield up to 35–50 l/s (MacDonald and Partners, 1990).
in karstic sections of the aquifers (UN, 1989). The
Kundelungu Limestone (part of the Katanga Groundwater Quality
system, central Zambia) yields up to 40 l/s
(MacDonald and Partners, 1990). Typical borehole Overview
depths are around 50–70 m below ground level. Very few chemical data are available for
groundwater in Zambia on which to base an
2
assessment of the quality of available resources and Belt. Iron and manganese have been recorded in
reconnaissance testing programmes are urgently groundwater from some boreholes at
needed to establish the drinking-water quality. concentrations above 1 mg/l and 0.5 mg/l
respectively (MacDonald and Partners, 1990). Much
Most investigations of water quality in Zambia of the dissolved load of these elements is likely to
appear to have been concentrated in the Kafue be aquifer-derived, although additional iron may be
River basin (Norrgren et al., 2000; Pettersson et al., derived from downhole steel pumps and pipework.
2000) perhaps because some 50% of the population
lives in the catchment and because mining,
industrial and agricultural development has been Arsenic
particularly important in the region. Investigations The dominance of crystalline basement rocks and
have however, focussed on the river water quality the likely prevalence of slightly acidic groundwaters
with little or no investigation of groundwater in these aquifers mean that concentrations of
(Norrgren et al., 2000). dissolved arsenic in the groundwater are likely to be
Limited data suggest that Zambian groundwater has low. Current understanding of the mobilisation
generally very low concentrations of dissolved processes of arsenic in aquifers also suggests that
constituents (total dissolved solids concentrations other sedimentary formations in Zambia are likely
typically less than 200 mg/l; MacDonald and to yield groundwaters with low dissolved arsenic
Partners, 1990). Given the geology of the region, concentrations, especially carbonate rock types
the principal groundwater-quality problems are (limestone, dolomite of the Katanga system) and
likely to be pollution problems associated with sand and gravel deposits (Kalahari system). In the
metal mining. Trace metals such as copper and zinc Kalahari sediments, problems with arsenic
in particular, but also chromium, nickel, cadmium mobilisation may occur in the finer-grained parts of
and arsenic may be present in increased the aquifer (e.g. clays) if the groundwater conditions
concentrations in groundwaters and surface waters become anaerobic, as would be suggested by the
affected by inputs from mine adits, slimes dams and presence of significant concentrations of dissolved
tailings piles. Parts of the Copper Belt are iron and manganese for example. However, the
potentially most vulnerable. ‘redox’ (aerobic/anaerobic) characteristics of the
Kalahari sediments are not known.

Nitrate Problems from arsenic in groundwater may also

occur in areas with prominent sulphide
Concentrations of nitrate as well as other mineralisation and particularly where mining activity
anthropogenic inputs to groundwater are largely is important. Elevated concentrations of arsenic
unknown but likely to be greatest in the urban and may be found in groundwaters from mineralised
agricultural areas. Transport of these pollutants in areas (e.g. the Copper Belt), although as noted
the aquifers is potentially greatest via fractures in above, high concentrations are expected to be a
the crystalline bedrocks and karstic limestone relatively local phenomenon (of the order of a few
formations. Although no measurements for nitrate kilometres around the mineralised zone).
were reported, Norrgren et al. (2000) found
evidence for the presence of the pesticides DDT
and metabolites, as well as PCB and dieldrin in Fluoride
Kafue River water in the Copper Belt. This provides As with other elements, few data could be found for
evidence of pollutant inputs to river waters from fluoride in Zambian groundwater. Concentrations
agricultural sources and suggests that nitrate inputs are generally expected to be low but may be
may also be high. Groundwater is also potentially increased in some groundwaters from the areas of
vulnerable to pollution in these areas, particularly the East African Rift (Zambezi and Luangwa
where water tables are shallow. Valleys in the south-east). High fluoride
concentrations have been found in groundwaters
Iron and manganese from the Rift areas of neighbouring Tanzania and
Malawi. Areas of granite (e.g. within the Bangweulu
Concentrations of iron and manganese are expected depression, Northern Province and parts of
to be low (below recommended limits for potable Southern Province) are also potentially vulnerable
water) in most shallow groundwaters, except to increased groundwater fluoride concentrations.
potentially those where groundwater is acidic. Such Fluoride values above 1.5 mg/l (the WHO guideline
conditions are most likely in groundwaters from the value) have also been found in groundwater from
crystalline basement rocks. Increased iron and parts of Lusaka and in springs at Chinyunn, Kassipe
manganese concentrations are also likely in areas and Lubungu (MacDonald and Partners, 1990).
affected by mine drainage, notably in the Copper
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Iodine Data sources
No iodine data are available for Zambian Aquastat, 1995. Website: http://www.fao.org/
groundwater. Iodine-deficiency disorders (IDDs), waicent/faoinfo/agricult/agl/aglw/aquastat/za
especially goitre, are known to exist in Zambia, the mbia.htm.
worst affected Provinces being Northwestern, Bailey, K. V. 1991. Zambia: review of national IDD
Western, Central, and Southern Provinces. Each of control programme. Summary of report to
these has some areas with goitre rates above 50% of WHO/ICCIDD. Website: http://www.people
the population and visible goitre rates above 10% .virginia.edu/~jtd/iccidd/idddocs/idd891.htm#
(Bailey, 1991). The concentrations of iodine in the Zambia.
groundwater are not known but goitre prevalence MacDonald and Partners, 1990. Hydrogeological
suggests that concentrations are likely to be low in map of Zambia. 1:1,500,000 scale. Philip Print
the most-affected provinces. Recent moves to Ltd, London.
import salt which has been iodised have attempted Norrgren, L., Pettersson, U., Orn, S. and Bergqvist,
to address the IDD problem and are potentially the P.A. 2000. Environmental monitoring of the
most effective means of mitigation. Kafue River, located in the Copperbelt, Zambia.
Archives of Environmental Contamination and
Other trace elements Toxicology, 38, 334-341.
Pettersson, U.T., Ingri, J. and Andersson, P.S. 2000.
Investigations of water quality in the upper reaches Hydrogeochemical processes in the Kafue River
of the Kafue River in the Copper Belt have found upstream from the Copperbelt mining area,
increased concentrations of some toxic metals Zambia. Aquatic Geochemistry, 6, 385-411.
including copper, cobalt, nickel, chromium and UN, 1989. Ground water in eastern, central and
cadmium as a result of mining-related and other southern Africa. National Resources/Water
industrial pollution (Norrgren et al., 2000). Series No. 19. United Nations, pp 301-308.
Concentrations of these elements in the
groundwater as well as further downstream in the
river are likely to be mitigated to some extent by
immobilisation of these trace metals through British Geological Survey 2001
© NERC 2001
adsorption onto soils and sediments. However,
concentrations in groundwater locally around the
sites of mining and industrial activity are likely to be
above background values and may be of some
concern for potable water supplies.