Impacts of Anthropogenic Activities on the Quality of Dam Lakes in Northern Côte d’Ivoire: The Case of the Korhogo, Boundiali and Katiola Dams

The objective of this study is to assess the effect of human activities on the quality of dam waters with a view to sustainable resource management. The processing of Landsat 7 satellite images using ENVI 5.1 software has been used to develop land use mapping and to assess human activities in dams’ watersheds. The rate of change and the annual rate of change were used to characterize the dynamics of land use (OCS). Sampling and analysis campaigns were carried out to assess water quality through the use of the Water Quality Index (WQI). Results show that areas occupied by natural spaces in 2000, on all dams’ watersheds with 59.26%, were reduced in favor of humanized areas in 2024 (77.44% of the total area). These anthropized areas are dominated by agricultural activities with 53.46%, followed by buildings and bare soils (23.23%). In addition, the level of anthropization of dams watersheds are respectively 96.23% in Korhogo, 83.06% in Katiola and 53.04% in Boundiali. The IQE assessment indicates that the overall water quality is poor for all the dams with IQE index = 28 for Korhogo, IQE index = 37 for Katiola and IQE index = 42 for Boundiali. During rainy season, water quality is poor for all dams. However, during dry season, the dams are divided into two quality classes. Poor water quality is found at Korhogo and Katiola dams, while Boundiali dam is in mediocre quality class. The content of COD, BOD, Fe, Mn, Pb, As, Hg, and pesticides have been identified as parameters responsible for water pollution. The implementation of integrated management strategies for different watersheds could reverse the adverse effects of human activities on water quality.