Assessment and mitigation of water hardness in borehole and shallow well sources in Kaderuna sub-county, Budaka district, and efficiency of locally available materials for removal of calcium and magnesium ions.
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Date
2026
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Busitema University
Abstract
Groundwater from boreholes and shallow wells is the principal source of domestic water for the majority of households in Kaderuna Sub-County, Budaka District, Eastern Uganda, yet its hardness status had never been scientifically documented despite persistent community complaints of excessive soap consumption, scale formation, and skin irritation. This study assessed the total, calcium, and magnesium hardness of five groundwater sources (three boreholes and two shallow wells) and evaluated the efficiency of three locally available materials — banana peel ash (BPA), rice husk ash (RHA), and wood charcoal (WC) — for removing calcium and magnesium ions.
Hardness was determined in triplicate by EDTA complexometric titration (APHA Method 2340 C). A pooled water sample representing all five sources was then subjected to batch adsorption experiments in a 3 × 4 × 4 factorial design (three materials, four dosages of 1, 2.5, 5 and 10 g/L, and four contact times of 15, 30, 60 and 120 minutes), and removal efficiency was calculated from pre- and post-treatment hardness values.
Baseline total hardness ranged from 196.3 mg/L at BH-3 to 341.5 mg/L at SW-1 as CaCO3, with all five sources classified as "hard" to "very hard" under WHO guidelines, although none exceeded the UNBS maximum acceptable limit of 500 mg/L. One-way ANOVA revealed significant differences in hardness among the sources (p < 0.001). In the batch experiments, removal efficiency increased with both dosage and contact time for all three materials. Banana peel ash was the most effective, removing 79.8% of total hardness at 10 g/L after 60 minutes (rising only marginally to 82.3% at 120 minutes), compared with 61.4% for rice husk ash and 46.3% for wood charcoal under the same conditions.
These findings confirm that groundwater in Kaderuna Sub-County is generally hard to very hard and that banana peel ash, an abundant agricultural waste material, offers the most practical and effective option for household-level water softening in this setting. The study recommends community sensitization on the preparation and safe use of banana peel ash for water treatment, continuous hardness monitoring of the sampled sources, and further research on the regeneration and long-term performance of the material under field conditions.
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Undergraduate research report
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Dimaye, B. (2026). Assessment and mitigation of water hardness in borehole and shallow well sources in Kaderuna sub-county, Budaka district, and efficiency of locally available materials for removal of calcium and magnesium ions. [Unpublished undergraduate research report]. Busitema University.