Effects of roofing materials on harvested rainwater quality in Minna, Nigeria.

Abstract

Scarcity of conventional sources of water in arid and semiarid regions has promoted the search of additional sources of water, thus this study is aimed at assessing the level of potability of rainwater samples harvested from zinc and aluminium coated roofing materials of some residential homes located in a non-commercial centre in Minna, Nigeria. Ten residential homes which had the requirements for the study for the two materials were identified. Samples were collected once every week between the months of June and September for the years 2010, 2011 and 212 respectively. A comprehensive physicochemical analysis was carried out on the sample and their averages taken. The results showed that the electrical conductivity ranged between 232 and 432 μs/cm; total dissolved solid ranged between 38.9 and 47.8 mg/L; total alkalinity ranged between 16.5 and 52 mg/L while the zinc content ranged between 1 and 2 mg/L. No aluminium deposits were observed from the study area. It can therefore be concluded that all the physiochemical parameters tested were within the recommended specification of NSDWQ of 2007 thus the harvested rainwater can be used for domestic and agricultural purposes.