PHYSICO-MICROBIAL EVALUATION OF NATURAL WATER SOURCES AROUND THE ENUGU METROPOLITAN DUMPSITE, SOUTHEASTERN NIGERIA
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.58885/ijcsc.v11i1.77.iloKeywords:
Dumpsite leachate, microbial contaminant, water quality, domestic water sources.Abstract
This study was carried out to qualitatively assess the natural water sources in the Enugu metropolis of Southeastern Nigeria with a view to measure the impact of physico-microbial contaminants from Ugwuaji dumpsite leachates. A total of 12 samples, collected from leachate, groundwater and surface water sources in the metropolis were analyzed using various physical and microbial parameters. Results of the physical parameters show average pH values of 5.0, EC EC values of 67.4 µs/cm, total dissolved solid (TDS) values of 45.6 mg/l and total alkalinity values of 132 mg/l for surface waters and pH values of 5.2, EC values of 46.26 µs/cm, total dissolved solids (TDS) values of 55.03 mg/l and total alkalinity values of 51.1 mg/l for groundwater. On the other hand, the results of the microbial parameters show concentration values of 28.9mg/l and 21.51 mg/l for biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), 48mg/l and 20.11mg/l for chemical oxygen demand (COD) and 53 mg/l and 29 mg/l for total viable count (TVC) in the surface waters and groundwater respectively. The results indicate that all the measured physical parameters are within the WHO (2012) acceptable limits for drinking water. Both waters sources in the study area are also classified as fresh waters based on the proportion of TDS. All the microbial parameters, except for the Chemical Oxygen Demand, have values which are higher than the WHO desirable limits. This implies that the water is unsafe for consumption as there is a high level of proven microbial activity in the water.
References
Amuno, S.A., 2011. Trace elements analysis and contamination degree of soils affected by municipal solid wastes. Journal of Applied Technology in Environmental Sanitation, v. 1, pp.30-38.
Caroll, D. 1962. Rainwater as a chemical agent of geologic processes – a review of U.S Geological survey water supply paper 1535 – G, 18pp
Duze, M. and Ojo, A. 1982. Senior school atlas. Macmillian p. 113.
Egboka, B. C. E., 1993.Water Resources Problem in the Enugu Area of Enugu State,” Nigerian Journal of Mining Geology, v. 20, pp. 1-6.
Elueze et al., 2004. Hydrogeochemical investigation of surface water and groundwater around Ibokun, Ilesha area, southwestern Nigeria. Journal of mining and geology, vol 40(1), pp. 57–64.
Inyang, P.E.B., 1974.Climatic regions. In Ofomata, G.E.K.(ed), Nigeria in maps; Eastern States. Ethiopian Publishing House, Benin, pp.27-29.
Maiti, S. K., De, S., Hazra, T., Debsarkar, A., & Dutta, A. (2016). Characterization of leachate and its impact on surface and groundwater quality of a closed dumpsite - a case study at Dhapa, Kolkata, India. Procedia Environmental Sciences, 35, 391–399. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.proenv.2016.07.019.
Mor, S., Ravindra, K., Dahiya, R. P., & Chandra, A. (2006). Leachate characterization and assessment of groundwater pollution near municipal solid waste landfill site. Environmental Monitoring and Assessment, 118, 435–456. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-006-15057.
Onyekuru, S. O., Nwankwor, G. I., & Akaolisa, C. Z. (2010). Chemical characteristics of groundwater systems in the southern Anambra Basin, Nigeria. Journal of Applied Sciences Research, 6, 2164–2172.
Onyekwelu and Aghamelu. 2019. Impact of organic contaminants from dumpsite leachate on natural water sources in the Enugu Metropolis, southeastern Nigeria. Environmental Monitoring Assessment. https://doi.org/10.1007/s10661-019-7719-2
Osiemo et al., 2019. Microbial quality of drinking water and prevalence of water-related diseases in Marigat urban centre, Kenya. Journal of environmental health insights, Vol 13. https://doi.org/10.1177/1178630219836988
Reyment, R. A. (1965). Aspects of the geology of Nigeria: The stratigraphy of the Cretaceous and Cenozoic deposits (pp. 145). Ibadan: Ibadan University Press.
Sajjadi, S. A., Aliakbari, Z., Matlabi, M., Biglari, H., & Rasouli, S.S. (2017). Environmental impact assessment of Gonabad municipal waste landfill site using Leopold Matrix. Electron Physician, 9(2), 3714–3719.
Tijani M. N., 1994. Hydrogeochemical assessment of groundwater in Moro area, Kwara state, Nigeria. Environmental Geology, vol. 24, pp. 194–202.
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2026 Authors
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
