Toxicologia Ambiental e Analítica

Groundwater Quality Assessment in Selected Niger Delta Communities in Nigeria

Abstract

Nwaichi EO*,James IO

Owing to the inevitability of man’s dependence on water, directly or indirectly and the sensitive nature of the largest Africa’s river delta, groundwater samples were collected from three functional boreholes in Gokana, Ogale and Trans-Amadi communities in Rivers State of Nigeria to appraise the suitability of the water samples for end-users.The hydrochemistry, physical property and expressed microbial load, using conventional field and laboratory techniques were assayed. The results gave significant variations in most water characteristics attributable to Petroleum production, Artisanal refining, Illegal tapping, and Industrial activities among others. Physicochemical properties like TSS, DO, NH3, Acidity, Colour, and pH levels exceeded set limits (Department of Petroleum Resources, DPR and Nigerian Standards for Drinking Water Quality, NSDWQ) for all locations and was comparable to the UNEP’s recent report findings on Ogoniland and environment. Also, at p ≤ 0.05, elevated levels of Benzene, a carcinogen was observed for Ogale water samples. Although the expressed microbial load did not comply with standards for all locations, there was no statistically significant difference (P ≤ 0.05) among the three different locations. These are suggestive of groundwater pollution as well as interrelationship with social and health implications.