Comparative Analysis of Physico-Chemical Parameters of Borehole, Pond and Well Water in Kashere Metropolis

Abstract

In a bid to ascertain the quality of water for human consumption in Kashere Metropolis, essential physico-chemical parameters were evaluated on samples of drinking water obtained from boreholes, pond and wells located at densely populated areas, labelled as: Kashere cattle market Pond, KP; Kashere cottage Hospital Borehole, HB; Kashere Market Borehole, MB; Federal University, Kashere (FUK) campus Borehole, CB; Kashere cottage Hospital Well, HW; Kashere Market Well, MW and FUK campus Well, CW. Standard procedure for the determination of chemical and physical characteristics of the water samples were used. The results of the investigated parameters in the samples were as follows: ρH 6.61‒7.96, Turbidity 0.0‒2568 FTU, Electrical Conductivity 60.5‒1151 Mhocm-1, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) 25.9‒518.0 mgL-1, Ca 0.0033‒0.5446 ppm, Mg 0.0793‒1.2215 ppm, Cd 0.0010‒0.0030 ppm, Zn 0.0024‒0.l054 ppm, Pb 0.0002‒0.0026 ppm and Fe 0.0044‒0.5649 ppm. Except for the concentration of Fe (in CB; 0.5649 ppm), all the analyzed minor and major cations in the water samples were in very low concentration and below the permissible limits of WHO standard guidelines values for drinking water. It is recommended that, water from the pond should be properly treated before consumption due to its high turbidity. Also periodic assessment of the quality of drinking water from these water sources should be conducted, to ascertain that they are not contaminated by either or both organic and inorganic pollutants.