Qualitative Assessment of Effects of Encroachment on Water Resources of Agba Dam, Ilorin Nigeria

Abstract

The city of Ilorin in Nigeria has experienced high population growth and rapid urbanization. Agba Dam is one of the major sources of potable water in Ilorin, and currently being threatened by anthropogenic induced encroachment activities, with potential for significant derogatory effects on its quality. Therefore, this paper assesses the qualitative impact of encroachment on the water resources regime of Agba Dam, Ilorin, Nigeria. Field survey was carried out to scope proximal anthropogenic activities and to delineate historical as well as current extent of the encroachment area of the dam. Representative water samples were collected from locations within the dam catchment, and subsequently analyzed for alkalinity, dissolved carbondioxide, chloride, total iron, copper, sulphate, colour, calcium, dissolved oxygen and turbidity. In addition, historical physical and chemical data of water samples obtained from the dam were also acquired, and analyzed to determine temporal variation in the quality. The results show a reduction of 0.89 km2 or 63% in the historical buffer boundary of the dam. The values of the measured physico-chemical parameters were generally similar to that obtained for the historical values and therefore suggest limited impact of the anthropogenic activities on the water quality. However, slight increases were observed in the measured concentrations of the alkalinity, dissolved carbondioxide, chloride, iron, copper and sulphate, and this indicates possibilities of water quality alteration, with potential consequences for ecosystem and aquatic life if the trend is unabated.