Abstract
The consumption of unsafe water is detrimental to human health. It is therefore important to ascertain the quality and purity of water set out for drinking. This paper investigates the physiochemical properties of drinkingwater obtained from boreholes located at various sites in Okada town, Nigeria. The assessment of physicochemical properties and heavy metal contents of groundwater (borehole) quality were evaluated. Ten water samples labeled A-J were collected from boreholes at different locations in Okada community and subjected to laboratory test to determine the pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD), dissolved oxygen (DO), hardness, turbidity, total organic carbon, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and concentration of phosphates, nitrates, lead, sodium, calcium and chloride. The pH in the water samples is an indication of acidity and the WHO standard for pH value is specified within the range of 6.5-8.5. However the pH values obtained for the samples are A(4.37), B(4.44), C(5.06), D(4.86), E(6.40), F(4.25), G(5.95), H(4.53 ), I(6.61) and J(5.70). This implies that only the sample I of pH value 6.61 falls within the WHO standard and safe for drinking. Thus, the water from the community can only be considered safe to drink except a neutralizing filter is incorporated into the water system in other to avert the implications of consuming acidic water.Keywords: borehole, physicochemical-parameters, chemical-oxygen-demand, dissolved- oxygen
Highlights
Lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury are dangerous for human health when consumed at high concentration because they are toxic and can be carcinogenic (Doan et al, 2018; Malaysia et al, 2015; Sabrina et al, 2013; Mohod and Dhote, 2013; Balachandar, 2010)
Comparison of the Potential hydrogen (pH) value of the samples explicitly revealed the acidic nature of the water provided for consumption in the study community except with sample I which falls within the standard specified and considered good for consumption
A simple random cross-sectional sampling was carried out to collect water samples from ten boreholes at different locations to obtain a good distribution of the study area in Okada town, for purpose of evaluating the overall quality of water obtained from the sources
Summary
Lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury are dangerous for human health when consumed at high concentration because they are toxic and can be carcinogenic (Doan et al, 2018; Malaysia et al, 2015; Sabrina et al, 2013; Mohod and Dhote, 2013; Balachandar, 2010). The objective of this paper is to assess the quality of water obtained for domestic consumption in Okada community of Edo State, south-south Nigeria by evaluating the physicochemical properties and heavy metal contents
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