ASSESSMENT AND EVALUATION OF STORAGE VESSEL’S IMPACT ON PHYSICOCHEMICAL PROPERTIES OF BOREHOLE WATER FOR IRRIGATION AND DOMESTIC USE SUITABILITY

Abstract

The impact of storage vessels on stored water quality changes and how it can influence plant growth, and human health through irrigation and domestic uses has been evaluated. The water was collected from the same borehole source at Ebonyi State University and stored in vessels made of plastic, metal, calabash, and clay pot. The samples were tested in the laboratory to ascertain the physiochemical quality of the water. The following ions Cd, Pb, Ca2+, Na+, Mg2+, K+, and Cl- were identified in each of the storage vessels which vary from the values of the controlled sample and were below their respective WHO permissible limits, except Cd which is significantly higher than WHO limit (>0.0003mg/l). The variation in qualities (odour, taste, colour, and metal concentration) of stored samples implies a significant influence of storage vessels on water quality. The pH range changed to slight alkali and hardness ranges from 160 to 330 mg/l after storage. The non-uniformity of each of the tested parameters among the samples indicated that each vessel had a different degree of impact on water quality during storage. The irrigation parameter and domestic use assessment showed some level of the potential risk to crops and humans mostly indicated by the MAR of calabash and Cd concentration respectively. The significant decrease in Cl- after storage suggests Cl decay, this enhances quality deterioration as microbial growth can be accelerated. The research conclusively noted that water quality deterioration is not an isotropic result of storage vessel influence but an integral impact of storage culture and geogenic factors’ influence on the water before and during storage and varying environmental constraints.