Evaluation of Surface and Groundwater Quality in Owerri Metropolis, Southeastern Nigeria

Abstract

Physio-chemical and microbial analyses were carried out on surface and groundwater samples within Owerri metropolis to determine their quality. The physio-chemical parameters analyzed were temperature, pH, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solid (TDS), suspended solid (SS), total solid (TS), HCO3-, CO3-, Cl-, SO42-, NO3-, Ca2+, Mg2+, Na+, K+, Fe3+ and Mn while the bacteriological parameters includes salmonella-typhii and total coliform. The water can be classified as acidic to slightly alkaline and fresh water based on the pH and TDS. The HCO3- was highest among the anions with concentrations that ranged from 16.0mg/L to 45.0mg/L. the Piper trilinear diagram was used to classify the water in the area as Ca- HCO3- water. The concentrations of the physical and chemical parameters were below the recommended maximum allowable limit for safe drinking water by World Health Organization and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality except Mn in locations 3 and 7 which concentrations were slightly above the permissible limit by the two standards. Salmonella-typhii and E. coli were not detected in all the locations while concentration of total coliform was above the maximum permissible value recommended by the two standards that indicated faecal contamination of the water resources.