Abstract
Anthropogenic activities have accelerated the process of eutrophication and threatened the health of aquatic ecosystems in Lake Baringo basin. This has necessitated the analysis of its spatial variation in its physico-chemical qualities. Physicochemical parameters from 10 sampling sites distributed throughout Lake Baringo catchment. Mean values of temperature were high at the river inlets and Islands compared to the rivers. While pH and Electrical Conductivity (EC) were relatively constant across the sampling points, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) were high at the inlets and Islands compared to the rivers, Total Nitrogen mg/ (TN), Nitrates (NO3-) Ammonia ( NH3 ), Total Phosphate (TP) Phosphate and Orthophosphate (OP) were relatively higher in the rivers compared to the inlets and Islands. Temperature ranged between (33.8oC) to (21.4 oC), pH (8.88) to (7.18), EC (543 µS/cm) to (224 µS/cm), TDS (433 mg/L) to (181mg/L), salinity (0.2ppt) to ( 0.01ppt), TN (9.98 mg/L ) to (1.32 mg/L), nitrate (5.11 mg/L) to (0.09 mg/L), NH4 (0.77 mg/L) to (0.09 mg/L), TP(2.91 mg/L) to (0.25 mg/L), OP (1.84 mg/L) to (0.09 mg/L). Nitrite values were below the detectable values <0.05. The result of the study revealed that Lake Basin is highly polluted and undergoing drastic eutrophication due to increased nutrient loading resulting in deterioration of the water quality.
Highlights
Water is a substantial abiotic factor of the ecosystem which is extensively considered as the most valuable of natural resource on the earth’s surface (Gadiga and Garandi, 2018)
The determination of water quality was done by measuring the water temperature, pH, conductivity, total dissolved solids, salinity, total nitrogen, nitrates, nitrites, total phosphates and orthophosphates
The low water temperatures in river Molo is attributed to high altitude and forest cover which is consistent with the findings of Kibichii (2007) who observed that tree canopy cover protects river water from solar radiation ameliorating the water temperatures
Summary
Water is a substantial abiotic factor of the ecosystem which is extensively considered as the most valuable of natural resource on the earth’s surface (Gadiga and Garandi, 2018). Lakes offer varied ecological services, including water supply and University, Life and Earth Sciences Institute, University of Ibadan, Ibadan, Nigeria. Water quality indicates the suitability of water to support its purposes for domestic use, agricultural, industrial and nature preservation. It is affected by a combination of natural and anthropogenic factors (Mouri et al, 2011). Anthropogenic factors such as farming, urban settlement, deforestation and recreation, negatively impacts on the water quality in many freshwater lakes worldwide (Dennis, 2009)
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