Table 2.
Mean levels of metals and metalloids in water samples in the study areas.
| Sampling Station (n) | Community | As—μg/L | Cd—μg/L | Pb—μg/L | Hg—μg/L | ||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| * Mean (SD) | Min–Max | * Mean (SD) | Min–Max | * Mean (SD) | Min–Max | * Mean (SD) | Min–Max | ||
| River Anikoko | Brakwaline | 325 *(3.54) | 320–330 | 230 **(19.5) | 203–258 | 0.20 (0.007) | 0.19–0.21 | 154 **(24.4) | 120–189 |
| River Abodwesh | Himan | 25 ** (5.79) | 18–34 | 340 **(17.6) | 321.2–368.2 | 0.44 (0.09) | 0.30–0.58 | 178 **(36.6) | 132–234 |
| River Ankobra | Prestea | 45 **(9.35) | 30–55 | 30 **(5.17) | 23.0–37.6 | 0.21 (0.04) | 0.16–0.28 | 561 **(87.0) | 438–684 |
| River Amenkume | Prestea | 103 ** (7.07) | 93–113 | 45 **(2.83) | 41–49 | 0.19 (0.04) | 0.14–0.24 | 246 **(66.1) | 153–340 |
| River Dinyame | Himan | 24 ** (4.64) | 18–31 | 0.21 (0.05) | 0.14–0.29 | 0.36 (0.14) | 0.19–0.58 | 866 ** (20.2) | 836–893 |
| River Anfoe | Anofe | 42 ** (8.49) | 30–54 | 4.00 ** (0.37) | 3.6–4.6 | 122 ** (19.2) | 99–152 | 278 ** (56.6) | 198–358 |
| River Woawora | Dumase | 112 ** (14.2) | 98–135 | 5.00 ** (0.72) | 3.9–5.9 | 33 ** (7.41) | 25.7–45.0 | 321 ** (10.6) | 306–336 |
| River Benyan | Dumase | 15 ** (4.95) | 8–22 | 61.0 ** (6.28) | 51–68 | 0.22 (0.08) | 0.11–0.35 | 472 ** (14.1) | 452–492 |
| River Mansi | Dumase | 21 ** (5.09) | 13.8–28.2 | 0.17 (0.02) | 0.14–0.20 | 0.17 (0.02) | 0.14–0.20 | 132 ** (1.22) | 131–134 |
| GSA—175/WHO | − | 10 | 3 | 10 | 10 | ||||
Notes: * The concentrations reported in this table are the means; SD represents standard deviation. ** Bold figures exceeded GS 175-1/WHO permissible guideline values [37].