Abstract
The ever growing saline lake Beseka is located at the northern end of Main Ethiopia Rift; MER. The levels of some selected heavy metals (Pb, Cr, Cd, Fe, As and Mn) were determined in water sample collected from 5 sites of the ever growing Lake Beseka by systematic random sampling methods and analyzed spectrophotometrically for its suitability for drinking, irrigation and other domestic purpose. The results of the heavy metals concentration revealed the following: Pb (0.434-0.916 mg/L), Cd (0.031-0.103 mg/L), As (0.043-0.067 mg/L), Fe (0.163-0.247 mg/L) Cr (BDL) and Mn (0.061-0.092 mg/L). The result obtained revealed that the heavy metals show variation among sampling points. Pb, Cd, As and Fe recorded concentrations above the WHO guideline limits of 0.02, 0.003, 0.01 and 0.04 mg/L, respectively but they are below the ANZECC and ARMCANZ standard guide line limit for irrigation A and Cr were below their respective detection limits. The main causes of deterioration of water quality are disposal of effluent from municipal of MER, agrochemical runoff and effluent discharged from industries without treatment. The results suggest that the use of such waters for drinking and domestic purposes pose a serious threat to the health of the users and calls for the intervention of government agencies. Key words: Heavy metal, atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS), main Ethiopia rift (MER), determination, analysis.
Highlights
The saline Lake Beseka is found within the volcanically active rift floor of the main Ethiopia rift (MER)
Sampling In January 15, 2016, five water samples were collected from saline lake Beseka by systematic random sampling method from the surface of Lake water of different directions in poly ethylene plastic bottle (PEPB) which was washed by grade reagents of 68-72% HNO3, and followed by deionized water and sterilized by autoclave at 121°C for 20 min
The exact coordinates of the locations of the sampling points were marked with a Global Positioning System (GPS) (Garmin 12 Channel GPS, USA) (Table 1) and the coordinates were exactly overlaid on the map of Lake Beseka by using ArcGIS 9.0 Software
Summary
The saline Lake Beseka is found within the volcanically active rift floor of the main Ethiopia rift (MER). The inflow of Lake Water mixes with ground water of the Awash River affects large number of physical and chemical processes that may have influence on the water quality like change the natural color of the water due to the presence of trace metal (APHA, 1992). In addition to the anthropogenic activities, the Lake Beseka water quality deteriorated by the natural processes like precipitation inputs, erosion, weathering of crustal materials (Fernandez and Olalla, 2000), determine the quality of ground water in MER. The main sources of heavy metals pollutions in Main Ethiopia Rift are the industrial influents discharged from various processing industries (Tole and Shitsama, 2001). The impacts of both natural and anthropogenic activities deteriorate the quality of lake water
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