Ground Water and River Quality Assessment for Some Heavy Metals and Physicochemical Parameters in Wukari Town, Taraba State, Nigeria

Abstract

With a few to assessing the qualities of water sources in Wukari local government area (LGA), a study was conducted on ground water and rivers in two settlements at Wukari LGA. For this purpose, some heavy metals (cadmium, lead, arsenic, iron, copper, mercury and manganese) and physicochemical parameters (temperature, turbidity, suspended solids, total dissolved solids, conductivity, pH, nitrate, phosphate, chloride, alkalinity, hardness and chemical/biochemical oxygen demand) were determined in water samples collected from hand–dug wells, boreholes and rivers in Puje and Avyi during wet and dry seasons using standard analytical techniques. The results showed that all the seven metals determined were detected and present at trace levels in all the water samples ranging from 0.001 ppm (Hg) in well and borehole to 0.0768 ppm (Fe) in river, and 0.001 ppm (Hg) in borehole to 0.0763 ppm (Fe) in river for Puje and Avyi, respectively. However, all the metals were found to have contained concentrations below the permissible safe level. The results further revealed that the levels of physicochemical parameters in the water samples for both wet and dry seasons are within the required standard limits set by World Health Organization (WHO) for drinking water. Nevertheless, source protection is recommended for the bodies of water for the benefit of Wukari people.