Groundwater Quality Assessment in Parts of Aba Metropolis, Southeastern Nigeria.

Abstract:

Groundwater quality assessment was carried out in Aba Metropolis to determine the quality of the water for various domestic uses. The study area is a metropolitan city with major markets and industries in the heart of Abia State, Nigeria. A total of forty-five (45) samples were collected and were analyzed for various physicochemical parameters using standard methods. The result shows that there is an increase in the concentration of majority of the parameters towards the city center and these variations was attributed to geogenic and anthropogenic factors. Background concentrations, WHO (2006) and NAFDAC (2006) standards for drinking water were used to ascertain the level of pollution and quality of the groundwater. Except for Fe++ which has background concentration above the permissible standard in the entire groundwater samples, most of the water samples fall within WHO/NAFDAC limits for drinking water. It is recommended that some remediation measures/appropriate water treatment be carried out before use for drinking purposes.