Quality Characteristics of Underground Water Resources in Nkanu East and Nkanu West Local Government Areas of Enugu State, Nigeria
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i QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES IN NKANU EAST AND NKANU WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA. CHUKWUDI, IFEOMA .D. PG/M.Sc/10/57611 DEPARTMENT OF PURE AND INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. SUPERVISOR: DR. C.O. B. OKOYE AUGUST, 2013 i TITLE PAGE QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF UNDERGROUND WATER RESOURCES IN NKANU EAST AND NKANU WEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREAS OF ENUGU STATE, NIGERIA. BY CHUKWUDI, IFEOMA .D. PG/M.Sc/10/57611 A RESEARCH PROJECT SUBMITTED IN PARTIAL FULFILLMENT OF THE REQUIREMENT FOR THE AWARD OF THE DEGREE OF MASTER OF SCIENCE IN ANALYTICAL CHEMISTRY IN THE DEPARTMENT OF PURE AND INDUSTRIAL CHEMISTRY, UNIVERSITY OF NIGERIA, NSUKKA. AUGUST, 2013 ii APPROVAL PAGE This research has been approved for the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, Faculty of Physical Sciences, University of Nigeria, Nsukka . By _____________________ _______________________ Prof.P.O.Ukoha Dr. C.O. B. Okoye Head of Department Project Supervisor Date_________________ Date___________________ _____________________________ External Examiner Date _________________ iii CERTIFICATION Chukwudi Ifeoma, a post graduate student in the Department of Pure and Industrial Chemistry, with the registration number PG/M.Sc/10/57611, has satisfactorily completed the requirements for course and research work for the degree of Master of Science in Analytical Chemistry. The work embodied in this project is original and has not been submitted in part or whole for any other diploma or degree of this or any other university. ____________________ ________________ Prof. P.O. Ukoha Dr. C.O.B. Okoye Head of Department Project supervisor Date _________________ Date______________ iv DEDICATION This project is dedicated to the faithful God. v ACKNOWLEDGEMENT My inexpressible thanks goes first to God who saw me through this programme. I also appreciate Him for His provision and wisdom throughout the period of this programme. I am indebted to my ebullient and indefatigable supervisor, Dr. C.O.B Okoye for his eagerness to correct and direct accordingly. I also owe my sincere appreciation to my head of department, Prof. P.O. Ukoha. I am most grateful to my parents and siblings for their support. I owe my appreciation to the staff and management of Federal Ministry of Water Resources, Regional Water Quality Laboratory, Enugu where the analysis was carried out. My special thanks goes to Mr. Innocent Obi for his unalloyed support. Finally I am grateful to my friends and well wishers who in one way or the other contributed to the success of this work. vi ABSTRACT Physicochemical and bacteriological analyses of underground water resources in Nkanu East and Nkanu West Local Government Areas of Enugu state, Nigeria were carried out to evaluate the potability and quality of the rural water supplies and to provide baseline data for future quality assessment. Underground water samples were collected from ten different boreholes in Nkanu East and Nkanu West LGAs. The parameters measured include temperature, colour, pH, electrical conductivity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, calcium hardness, magnesium hardness, total alkalinity, chloride, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate, sodium, potassium, lead, chromium, copper, cadmium, nickel, iron, zinc and total coliform. The water showed near neutral pH (6.4- 8.2) favourably comparable to the WHO recommended range of 6.5-8.5, with moderate permanent hardness of 2.5-289 mg/L. Conductivity and total dissolved solids values for Amechi Idodo (4360 μs/cm, 2650 mg/L) and Mbulu Owo (4880 μs/cm, 2930 mg/L) were higher than the WHO guideline values of 1660 μs/cm and 1000 mg/L, respectively. Concentrations of most trace metals and all anions were below the WHO guideline values. However, iron,cadmium and chromium occurred at levels slightly above the WHO permissible limit. Total coliform count in Amechi Idodo and Mbulu Owo exceeded the WHO guideline value of zero. The underground waters studied are good for drinking provided they are boiled to remove microbial contamination. vii TABLE OF CONTENTS Pages Title Page ------------------------------------------------------------------------- i Approval Page ------------------------------------------------------------------- ii Certification ---------------------------------------------------------------------- iii Dedication ------------------------------------------------------------------------ iv Acknowledgement -------------------------------------------------------------- v Abstract --------------------------------------------------------------------------- vi Table of Contents ------------------------------------------------------------- vii List of Tables -------------------------------------------------------------------- xi List of Figures ------------------------------------------------------------------- xii CHAPTER ONE 1.0 Introduction ------------------------------------------------------------------ 1 1.1 Underground water quality ----------------------------------------------- 1 1.2 Background of Study ------------------------------------------------------ 2 1.3 Scope of Study -------------------------------------------------------------- 3 1.4 Objective of Study --------------------------------------------------------- 4 CHAPTER TWO 2.0 Literature Review----------------------------------------------------------- 5 2.1 Water ------------------------------------------------------------------------- 5 2.1.1 Properties of water ------------------------------------------------------- 5 2.1.2 Uses of Water ------------------------------------------------------------ 6 2.2 Types of water resources -------------------------------------------------- 7 2.2.1 Underground water ------------------------------------------------------ 7 2.2.2 Surface water ------------------------------------------------------------- 8 2.2.3 Water in the atmosphere ------------------------------------------------ 12 viii 2.3 Pollution --------------------------------------------------------------------- 12 2.3.1 Water pollution ----------------------------------------------------------- 13 2.3.1.1 Organic pollutants ----------------------------------------------------- 13 2.3.1.2 Inorganic pollutants --------------------------------------------------- 15 2.3.1.3 Sediments pollutants ------------------------------------------------- 16 2.3.1.4 Radioactive materials ------------------------------------------------ 16 2.3.1.5 Thermal pollutants ---------------------------------------------------- 17 2.3.2 Underground water pollution/pollutant ----------------------------- 17 2.3.2.1 Point-source pollution ------------------------------------------------ 19 2.3.2.2 Non-point source pollution ------------------------------------------ 19 2.3.2.3 Chemical pollution ---------------------------------------------------- 21 2.3.2.4 Biological pollution --------------------------------------------------- 22 2.3.2.5 Physical/Natural pollution ------------------------------------------- 24 2.4 Water Analysis ------------------------------------------------------------- 25 2.4.1 Physical examination ---------------------------------------------------- 25 2.4.1.1 Temperature ------------------------------------------------------------ 25 2.4.1.2 Turbidity ---------------------------------------------------------------- 25 2.4.1.3 pH------------------------------------------------------------------------- 27 2.4.1.4 Total dissolved solids ------------------------------------------------ 27 2.4.1.5 Conductivity ------------------------------------------------------------ 28 2.4.1.6 Colour -------------------------------------------------------------------- 28 2.4.2 Chemical examination -------------------------------------------------- 28 2.4.2.1 Hardness ---------------------------------------------------------------- 28 2.4.2.2 Alkalinity ---------------------------------------------------------------- 30 2.4.2.3 Calcium ------------------------------------------------------------------ 30 2.4.2.4 Magnesium -------------------------------------------------------------- 31 2.4.2.5 Chloride ----------------------------------------------------------------- 31 2.4.2.6 Nitrate -------------------------------------------------------------------- 31 ix 2.4.2.7 Phosphate --------------------------------------------------------------- 32 2.4.2.8 Potassium --------------------------------------------------------------- 32 2.4.2.9 Sulphate ----------------------------------------------------------------- 33 2.4.2.10 Sodium ----------------------------------------------------------------- 33 2.4.2.11 Cadmium -------------------------------------------------------------- 34 2.4.2.12 Chromium ------------------------------------------------------------- 35 2.4.2.13 Copper ------------------------------------------------------------------ 36 2.4.2.14 Iron---------------------------------------------------------------------- 37 2.4.2.15 Lead--------------------------------------------------------------------- 38 2.4.2.16 Nickel ------------------------------------------------------------------ 38 2.4.2.17 Zinc --------------------------------------------------------------------- 39 2.4.3 Microbiological examination ----------------------------------------- ` 39 CHAPTER THREE 3.0 Materials and Methods ---------------------------------------------------- 41 3.1 Sample collection----------------------------------------------------------- 41 3.2 Method of analysis --------------------------------------------------------