Assessment of water quality of Lake Bosomtwe for recreational purposes

Lake Bosomtwe is a freshwater body located in the Ashanti region of Ghana. The lake is the habitat for large number of aquatic species and serves a great deal of recreation and tourism activities.Therefore,assessment of water quality and health of the lake is vital for its utilization, conservation and management. W ater samples were collected from ten (10) different locations inthe lake, processed and analyzed for water quality parameters: Temperature, electrical conductivity, pH, Na, Ca, mg, K, Zn, Cu, Alkalinity, Cl-, NH4+, NO3-, PO43-, SO42-, Hardness, DO, BOD, Total coliform, Faecal coliform and E. coli. The average values of the parameters above were: 32.5OC, 1281.8μs/cm, 8.85, 254mg/l, 2.95mg/l, 11.86mg/l, 42.71mg/l, 0.09mg/l, 0.04mg/l, 439.30mg/l, 94.86mg/l, 16.00mg/l, 0.73mg/l, 0.79mg/l, 5.57mg/l, 20.37mg/l, 7.27mg/l, 2.93mg/l, 3.50colonies/100ml, 2.90colonies/100ml and 3.80colonies/100ml respectively. The results showed that the water from the lakefell within the WHO guidelines for good recreational water except pH and alkalinity. It is therefore recommended that appropriate measures need to be taken to monitor these parameters to ensure sustainable use of the water resource as a recreation facility.