Evaluation of groundwater suitability for drinking, domestic and irrigrational purposes: A case study of Makurdi metropolis and environs, Benue State, North Central Nigeria

Abstract

A study of groundwater samples from Makurdi metropolis and environs was carried out to assess its suitability for drinking, domestic and irrigational purposes. The chemistry of groundwater within the study area with respect to pH, total dissolved solids (TDS), NH3-, NO3-, Cl-, Na+, K+, Ca2+, Mg2+, HCO3-, SO4-, Fe3+, Cu2+, Mn2+ and Zn2+ was used to determine its suitability for drinking. Some parts of the study area have elevated concentration of TDS, magnesium, nitrate, sulphate, copper, manganese and iron and which are considered unsafe for drinking and some domestic uses based on the standard organization of Nigeria (SON, 2007) and the World health organization (WHO, 2011) guideline concentration for drinking water. Sodium adsorption ratio (SAR), percentage sodium (Na%) and bicarbonate hazard have been studied to evaluate the suitability of the groundwater for irrigation purpose. This study show that groundwater within the area is safe for irrigation with respect to sodium adsorption ratio but a good number of the samples had high values of bicarbonate hazard and percentage sodium, and are unsuitable for irrigation. Key words: Irrigation, groundwater, Makurdi metropolis, suitability.