Hydrogeochemical assessments were carried\r\nout in the vicinity of Okpara coal and Obwetti fireclay\r\nmines, Enugu, Nigeria to investigate the hydrogeochemical\r\ncharacteristics and constituents of shallow groundwater. A\r\ntotal of 12 representative shallow groundwater samples\r\nwere collected and analyzed for major cations and anions\r\nas well as trace metals like Fe and Mn. Distribution of\r\nmajor ions in these groundwater samples was calculated\r\nand the general trend among cations and anions was found\r\nto be Ca ? Na ? Mg ? K and SO4 ? NO3 ? Cl ?\r\nHCO3, respectively. This means that water moving through\r\nthe ground will react to varying degrees with the surrounding\r\nminerals (and other components), and it is these\r\nrockââ?¬â??water interactions that give the water its characteristic\r\nchemistry. Piper trilinear diagrams classified the hydrogeochemical\r\nfacies into Caââ?¬â??Mgââ?¬â??Cl, Caââ?¬â??Feââ?¬â??Mgââ?¬â??SO4 and\r\nCaââ?¬â??Mgââ?¬â??Naââ?¬â??Kââ?¬â??Clââ?¬â??SO4 water types. Ratios of Cl to Na, K\r\nand Mg generally increased compared to those of Cl to Ca\r\nand SO4 which decreased indicating ion adsorption/\r\nexchange processes due to the dissolution of drainage\r\nmaterials. The aquiferous units mainly in the northwestern\r\nregion of the study area yield water of better quality than\r\nthose toward the southeastern region.
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