Abstract
The consumption of unsafe water is detrimental to human health. It is therefore important to ascertain the quality and purity of water set out for drinking purpose. This paper therefore investigates the physicochemical and hydrogeological properties of water obtained from boreholes and rivers located at various sites in Okada town and environs, Edo State, Nigeria. The physicochemical parameters were analyzed using standard methods. Results obtained for the physicochemical properties showed that the concentration of phosphate, sulphates, nitrates and manganese in the samples range between (0.0310-0.450) mg/L, (0.05-1.01) mg/L, (0.021-1.0) mg/L and (0.01-0.41) mg/L respectively. The maximum concentration of calcium and sodium in all the samples analyzed was 1.27 mg/L and 8.65mg/L. Comparison of the pH value of the samples shows they are all acidic in nature, with pH values which ranges from (4.3 – 6.0). In all the samples analyzed, it was observed that no trace of heavy metal (lead) was found except in Iguvinyoba River (down-stream) with a concentration of 0.001 mg/L. The biological oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) values from all the water samples are below the WHO standard while the dissolved oxygen (DO) values are above the WHO standard. The results revealed that physicochemical parameters were slightly below WHO and NAFDAC standards for drinking water, except for the high iron (Fe) content at Usen. Thus from established standard, the borehole and river water in the study area will need some treatment to render it suitable for drinking. 
 Keywords: physicochemical, hydrogeological properties, quality, drinking purpose, borehole and river water.
Highlights
The quality of water over the decade had been described by the colorless, odorless, tasteless and its transparent character
The Borehole samples at Okada, Iguobazuwa and Igbogo shows that all the physiochemical and geochemical parameters analysed for are below the NAFDAC and WHO standard for suitable drinking water except for the concentration Iron (0.95 mg/L) at Igbogo which was found to be higher than the stated standard for NAFDAC
The river samples at Usen and Iguvinyoba, up and downstream, indicates that the analysed samples are far less than the set standard of NAFDAC and WHO except for the concentration of Iron (1.48 mg/L) which met the required standard for both organizations
Summary
The quality of water over the decade had been described by the colorless, odorless, tasteless and its transparent character It is a basic resource necessary for sustaining all human activities, so its provision in desired quantity and quality is of utmost importance (Taruna and Alankrita, 2013). The location of a borehole yet to be drilled should be well assessed in other to avoid water pollution that can pose as a threat to human lives Contaminants such as heavy metals, lead, arsenic, chromium, cadmium and mercury are dangerous for human health when consumed at high concentration because they are toxic and can be carcinogenic (Doan et al, 2018; Malaysia et al, 2015). At the southeastern part of the study area the river drains towards the Osse River at the southeastern part of the study area
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