Abstract
This study measured the physico-chemical parameters and concentration of the heavy metals of Oji river and assessed the water quality of the river by means of water quality index (WQI). The physico-chemical parameters were determined following the APHA (1998) procedure and the heavy metals were analyzed using Atomic Absorption Spectrometry (AAS). The results of this study revealed that the WQI of the river in the various locations studied varied from 241-830 for the rainy season indicating ‘poor’ to ‘unsuitable for drinking’ whereas the WQI varied from 68- 946 for the dry season indicating ‘good’ to ‘unsuitable for drinking’. It was only the location down-steam the Power Station in the dry season that was ranked good. The main contaminants that accounted for the poor quality of the river for drinking purposes were lead, cadmium and hydrocarbons. The Abattoir appears to be mainly responsible for the input of the heavy metals into the river. Keywords : Water quality; water quality index; contaminants, river, heavy metals, physico-chemical parameters. DOI : 10.7176/JEES/9-1-10
Highlights
Surface water bodies constitute important water resources for human society and deserve to be well managed
The electrical conductivity (EC) varied from 7.4 – 18.1 μS/cm and increases as we move from the up-stream section of the river to the down-stream (Table 2) revealing that the activities of the Abattoir and Power Station affect the input of chemical substances into the river that dissociate to form ions capable of conducting electricity
This study determined the values of physico-chemistry parameters and concentration of heavy metals in Oji river and found that the major contaminants in Oji river around the studied locations were lead, cadmium and hydrocarbons
Summary
Surface water bodies constitute important water resources for human society and deserve to be well managed. Water quality index (WQI) is one of the methods used in the assessment of water quality especially for groundwater and surface water bodies such as rivers. This study is aimed at investigating on spatial and temporal basis, how that some of the activities that take place around the river which are anthropogenic nature may be impacting the water quality of the river. To this effect, the study was carried out during the rainy and dry season and covering distances that factor in the influence of the identified anthropogenic activities such as the Abattoir and Power Station
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