Assessment of Some Physicochemical Parameters and Heavy Metals in Groundwater Samples Collected in Wawa Town

Water quality assessment became essential in some major sources of water in Wawa town due to lack of firsthand information on their quality to ascertain their suitability for domestic purposes. Some heavy metals (which include; zinc, cadmium, iron, copper, cobalt, lead and manganese) and selected physicochemical parameters (including temperature, pH, electrical conductivity, alkalinity, turbidity, total dissolved solids, phosphates, nitrates, sulphates and total hardness) were determined using standard methods then compared to the WHO standards for drinking water. Each of the borehole water were sampled in triplicates. The results obtained for all the samples shows that all the values obtained for the physicochemical parameters analyzed are within the maximum permissible limits set by the WHO. However, the results obtained for heavy metals analysis in the samples are also within the maximum permissible limits set by WHO except in one sample (BW ۵). The concentration of lead in BW ۵ is ۰.۰۱۳±۰.۰۰۲ mg/L, which is slightly above the permissible limit of ۰.۰۱ mg/L set by the WHO. Generally, the results obtained from this study show acceptable levels of concentration for the parameters analyzed, for majority of water samples except for BW ۵, which has high concentration of lead above the maximum permissible limit as specified by the WHO. The high concentration of lead in BW ۵ suggests a significant health risk to the consumers of the water given the toxic nature of the metal.

Keywords:

Borehole , Water samples , Trace metals , WHO , Wawa