Physicochemical Characteristics of Surface Water and Sediment of Silver River, Southern Ijaw, Bayelsa State, Niger Delta, Nigeria

Abstract

Water and sediment samples were collected from Silver River to determine the levels of various physicochemical parameters in both sediment and water from the river. This research was conducted with the aim of determining the extent of deterioration of the river as a result of artisanal refining of crude oil. The result obtained showed that the mean values of the different parameters examined in the water were; conductivity (26,567±464.28 µS/cm), total dissolved solids (TDS), (13,250±187.08 mg/L), total suspended solids (TSS), (17.78±3.07 mg/L), turbidity (15.57±2.45 NTU), pH (7.12±0.03), salinity (8766.67±449.69 mg/L), total hydrocarbon content (THC) (45.43±3.86 mg/L), nitrates (NO 3-), (4.93±0.61 mg/L), sulphates (SO 4 2-) (1471.07±1058.43 mg/L), phosphates (PO 4 3), (0.64±0.16 mg/L), dissolved oxygen (DO), (4.73±0.57 mg/L), biochemical oxygen demand (BOD), (33.20±2.33 mg/L) and chemical oxygen demand (COD), (50.13±3.21 mg/L). Physicochemical parameters such as conductivity, TDS, salinity, THC, SO 4 2-, DO, BOD and COD fall below the standard requirement for domestic water consumption, while TSS, turbidity, pH, NO 3-and PO 4 3-were within the acceptable range for drinking water by WHO. The mean values of sediment physicochemical parameters were; pH (7.20±0.03), conductivity (16701.67±513.65 µS/cm), total organic carbon (TOC) (2.37±0.05%) and total organic matter (TOM) (4.09±0.09%). The particle size examination showed that clay was 7.33±1.25%, silt (14.67±1.25%) and sand (78.00±1.63%). The examined sediment nutrient species showed that the mean values were 0.51±0.01, 8.81±12.09 and 0.27±0.01mg/kg for NO 3-, SO 4 2-and PO 4 3-respectively. The findings of this work showed that the silver river (both water and sediment) are under human influence which not handled in the immediate, can in the near future constitute a major health risk to the entire environment.