Assessment of water quality index of some selected boreholes around dump sites in Nigeria
 

Accepted 7^th May, 2014

¹Ilaboya, I.R, ²Oti, E.O, ³Ekoh, G.O, ⁴Umukoro, L.O
^1,2 University of Benin; Department of Civil Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, PMB 1154, Benin City, Nigeria
³ Works department, Akanu Ibiam Federal Polytechnic Unwana Afikpo, Ebonyi State
⁴ Department of Civil Engineering, Igbinedion University, Okada, Edo State, Nigeria

Corresponding Author’s Address Email: id_rudolph@yahoo.com, Mobile: +2348038027260
 

The present work is aimed at assessing the overall water quality employing the water quality index (WQI) approach on some selected boreholes (groundwater) around some specific dump sites in the southern part of Nigeria. A total of nine boreholes comprising of three each at three different locations were selected for this research work. Water samples were collected in air tight polyethylene containers and taken to the laboratory to assess their physico-chemical and biological characteristics. In other to determine the Water Quality Index, the following parameters among others were considered namely; pH, turbidity, conductivity, dissolved oxygen, total hardness, calcium, total dissolved solids, iron, manganese etc. Results obtained was used to develop a water quality data bank that enabled us rank the different water sources in terms of quality, thereafter, appropriate treatment methods were recommended to cater for the pollution problems resulting from human activities that interferes with the quality of ground water. A non-parametric statistical analysis comparing groups using the Mann-Whitney test (U test) was also done, splitting data between the different locations. The central trend measurement chosen to analyze the data was the median, as it is not influenced by extreme series values. Box-plots graphs were utilized to facilitate visualization of the results so that the median and the data distribution trend could be identified. Overall result from the research work has shown the suitability of water quality index modeling and its associated significance in predicting the purity of both surface and ground water. It is recommended that the model be employed to conduct water quality assessment on regular bases as this will help ensure that stake holders in the water business abide by the standard limit before such water is allowed to reach the end user.

Key words: Conductivity, water quality index, ground water quality assessment, water quality parameters, turbidity, and total dissolved solids (tds).

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