Seasonal Assessment of the Physico-Chemical Properties of Groundwater in Some Villages Around an Iron and Steel Recycling Industry in Southwestern Nigeria

OKOYA A. A.^1, and ELUFOWOJU M. A.²

¹Institute of Ecology and Environmental Studies, Obafemi Awolowo University, Ile-Ife, Nigeria,

²Environmental Health Department, Osun State College of Health Technology, Ilesa, Nigeria

Cite this paper

OKOYA A. A. and ELUFOWOJU M. A.. Seasonal Assessment of the Physico-Chemical Properties of Groundwater in Some Villages Around an Iron and Steel Recycling Industry in Southwestern Nigeria. American Journal of Water Resources. 2020; 8(4):164-172. doi: 10.12691/AJWR-8-4-2

Abstract

This study assessed the physico-chemical quality parameters of ground water bodies around the industry, with a view to evaluating the impact of the water bodies for the industry, and by extension the health of people of neighbouring communities who depend on these groundwater bodies for their water needs for domestic and other purposes. Water samples were collected from five ground water bodies. Physico-chemical analysis was carried out on the samples using standard methods. The highest and least values of turbidity (44.47 ± 34.37 and 7.99 ± 1.89 NTU) were recorded in the well and borehole during the wet season respectively. Highest value of pH (6.65 ± 0.13) was recorded in the well during the dry season, while the least value (5.94 ± 0.15) was found in borehole water sample during the wet season. TDS was highest (113.23 ± 14.76 mg/L) in the well during the dry season, while it was least (71.69 ± 17.68 mg/L) in the borehole during the wet season. Least value of DO (4.20 ± 0.71 mg/L) and the highest value (6.00 ± 0.42 mg/L) were recorded during the dry season, in borehole and well respectively. Ca²⁺ and Cl^- were highest in the well during the wet season (26.31 ± 5.64 and 16.08 ± 2.28) mg/L respectively but their least values 16.37 ± 3.67 and 8.91 ± 1.46 respectively occurred in the borehole during the dry season. Highest values of Cd (0.093 ± 0.0043 mg/L), Fe (0.69 ± 0.05 mg/L) and Pb (0.24 ± 0.03 mg/L) were recorded in the borehole during the dry season, but the least value of Cd (0.086 ± 0.0028 mg/L) was found in the well during the dry season, while least values for Fe and Pb (0.27 ± 0.036 and 0.012 ± 0.0086) mg/L respectively were found in the well during the wet season. The study concluded that values of turbidity, dissolved oxygen, cadmium, lead and iron significantly exceeded the national (NSDWQ) and international (WHO) permissible limits. The high values of these parameters, especially turbidity and heavy metals, may make the water toxic, and pose serious health challenges to people who drink the water.

Keywords

groundwater bodies, industry, iron, physico-chemical, seasonal, health, permissible limits

Copyright

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

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