ASSESSMENT OF THE SUITABILITY OF GROUNDWATER ALONGARHO ROAD, UGHELLI, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA FOR DRINKING USING WATER QUALITY INDEX.

Abstract

Groundwater is a major source of water for drinking and domestic use. However, the near absence of public water supply scheme by government has caused individuals to wantonly sink boreholes and utilizing the water for drinking and in meeting their domestic water needs without adherence to international best practices and standards stipulated by World Health Organization (WHO) and other quality regulating bodies in Nigeria such as Standard Organization of Nigeria (SON) and Nigerian Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSFDWQ). The use of such water is detrimental to human health. This study was therefore carried out to assess the groundwater quality of Ughelli, but specifically along Arho Road in Ughelli Delta State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected from six (6) existing boreholes along the road on the 15th of July, 2023 and tested for 20 water quality parameters using the American Public Health Association (APHA) standard for testing water and waste water in the DELSU Chemical Engineering laboratory. From the tested quality parameters, some parameters were chosen based on their importance and used in evaluating the water quality index (WQI) of the water samples using the weighted arithmetic method. From the results obtained, the WQI ranged from good to poor (41.20, 28.01, 33.30, 60.19 and 37.95) at locations 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6 respectively. Five (5) boreholes had their water status as good and one (1) as poor. The one that had poor water status was the one collected from a borehole close to the Ughelli River and a mechanic workshop indicating the impact of waste from the mechanic workshop and flow from the stream into groundwater aquifer. The results show that the groundwater quality of Ughelli is not dangerously too bad for domestic use and is affected by anthropogenic activities and natural factors. It is recommended that water from all wells in the study area should be given some form of specific say UV or chlorination t before being used for drinking