Comparative Assessment of the Quality of Groundwater and Surface Water in a University Locality in South-Eastern Nigeria

Abstract

This study evaluated the quality of borehole and surface water in a University community in Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria, with reference to WHO permissible limit for drinking water. Eight borehole water samples were collected strategically from various points within the university community and its environs. Besides, three water samples were collected upstream, midstream and downstream of the surface water. Thirteen physicochemical parameters including Total dissolved solids, conductivity, pH, among others, were tested for the eleven water samples. The concentration of selected heavy metals such as arsenic, lead, cadmium, mercury etc.,were also tested to check their compliance to WHO permissible limits for portable water. Standard analytical procedures for testing the quality of water samples were employed for the study. The findings from the result show that only five out of the thirteen tested physicochemical parameters were within permissible limit with WHO standards for drinking water, which include TDS, sulphate, nitrate, fluoride and dissolved oxygen.. The result of the hypothesis test showed that there is no significant difference between the physicochemical parameter values except for the BOD at p:0.0241<0.05 ; there is significant difference in the concentration of arsenic at p: 0.0248<0.05 for the ground water and surface water samples. It is therefore recommended that borehole and surface water in the university community should be properly treated before consumption. Also, government and other stakeholders should provide alternative treated borehole or pipe-borne water for the University community.