Groundwater Quality in Sewage Receiving Areas of Eneka and Atali Igwuruta, Rivers State, Nigeria

Groundwater Quality in Sewage Receiving Areas of Eneka and Atali Igwuruta, Rivers State, Nigeria

U.U. Egereonu
 Department of Chemistry, Federal University of Technology, P.M.B 1526, Owerri, Nigeria.
 E-mail: uegeronu@yahoo.com

Accepted on September 10, 2007

Abstract

Chemical investigations were carried out on groundwater at the proximity of sewage receiving areas of Eneka and Atali, Igwuruta in Rivers State in order to assess the level of pollution of the aquifer of the area. Investigations revealed the mean values of the following parameters: Temperature, 24.2.-27.00C; pH,5.57-7.01; dissolved  oxygen,5.91-6.73mgl-1; electrical conductivity,35.07-207.25mScm-1; total suspended solids, 28.67-825.00mgl-1; total dissolved solids,16.67-98.00mgl-1; salinity,0.01-0.10mgl-1;sulphate, 0.001-04 mgl-1; BOD5 0.001-3.30 mgl-1; COD, 0.001-6.387 mgl-1; oil and grease, 0.001-0.02 mgl-1 ; ammonia, 1.029-1.63 mgl-1; calcium, 0.75-8.97 mgl-1; copper, 0.001-1.81 mgl-1; zinc, 0.042-0.20 mgl-1; iron, 0.48-1.013 mgl-1; lead, 0.194-0.4 mgl-1; silver, 0.016-0.051 mgl-1; chromium, 0.001-0.67 mgl-1;nickel, 0.184-0.69 mgl-1 and vanadium, 0.006-0.08 mgl-1. The results when evaluated were found to be within Nigeria’s Federal Environmental Protection Agency (FEPA) standard except for iron, lead and chromium for which values were a bit higher than the acceptable limits.  Also cadmium had a concentration value of 0.08 mgl-1 for Eneka dumpsite which is above FEPA standard of 0.01mgl-1.The study emphasized the need for protection of the groundwater to meet the needs of population growth and  urbanization in the study area.

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