Abstract
Samples of borehole water were randomly collected from twenty households in the Lagos-Ogun axis of southwestern Nigeria. The samples were analyzed for silver, iron, manganese, lead, nickel, magnesium, cadmium, zinc, sodium, potassium, pH, turbidity, dissolved oxygen, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, total hardness, chloride, nitrate and sulphate following standard methods of water analysis. Results obtained were compared with global background values and WHO guidelines for drinking water. The pH values ranged from 4.17 ± 0.26 to 6.07 ± 0.27 while the metal pollution indexes are between 0.01 and 0.11. Cadmium, manganese, iron and nitrate (mg/L) levels were found to be relatively high in most of the water samples. Results obtained were analyzed statistically. Health risk assessment for exposure to cancer and non-cancer indices was evaluated. Kempster and co-workers classification of drinking water quality was applied; nineteen of the twenty household water samples were found to fall short of the ideal water quality suitable for lifetime use.
Highlights
The unwholesomeness of drinking water resulting from contaminants released from different anthropogenic sources has become a global concern [1]-[4]
Water samples are expected to be routinely analyzed and measured against a range of health and non-health based physico-chemical standards. The majority of these standards are based on the World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidelines [10]
The pH values ranged from 4.17 to 6.07 and 4.68 to 6.20 in Lagos and Ogun borehole drinking water samples (Table 1) respectively and were generally below the permissible limit (6.50 - 8.50) set by World Health Organization [38]. They vary from values reported earlier for Chikhwawa, Malawi borehole water (6.90 7.70), Lao PDR (3.53 - 7.92), Swat, Northern Pakistan (6.50 - 8.60) respectively [2] [10] [15]
Summary
The unwholesomeness of drinking water resulting from contaminants released from different anthropogenic sources has become a global concern [1]-[4]. In Nigeria, most household in urban and semi-urban areas rely on boreholes or shallow wells for their water supply This is the situation in the Lagos-Ogun axis, where samples for the present study were collected. The deterioration of water quality can pose a high hazard to human health [8] [9] To address this concern, water samples are expected to be routinely analyzed and measured against a range of health and non-health based physico-chemical standards. Water samples are expected to be routinely analyzed and measured against a range of health and non-health based physico-chemical standards The majority of these standards are based on the World Health Organization (WHO) and United States Environmental Protection Agency (USEPA) guidelines [10]
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