Salinity of irrigation water in the Philippi farming area of the Cape Flats, Cape Town, South Africa

Abstract

This paper explores the nature, source and spatial variation of the salinity of water used for irrigation in a coastal urban farming area in Cape Town, South Africa, where water from the Cape Flats aquifer is drawn into storage ponds and used for crop irrigation. Water samples were collected in summer and winter from selected sites across the study area and were analysed for salinity as well as for concentrations of major and minor ions. Each site consists of one borehole and one pond. Isotope analysis was done for the summer samples so as to assess effects of evaporation on water quality and salinity. Descriptive statistics were used to compare the variation in range of concentration of specific ions with the recom mended ranges set by the South African Department of Water Affairs and Forestry (DWAF) and the Food and Agriculture Organisation (FAO).

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