Determination of Nitrate Concentrations in Dutsin-MA Fadama Land using Spectrophotometric method

Abstract

Chemical analysis of water from Dutsinma Fadama Land was conducted for ten consecutive months (January to October) using Spectrophotometric measurement, to determine the level of nitrate in the water. The result of the study showed that the level of nitrate exceeded WHO recommended value in all the sampling sites. Similarly, mean monthly variation of the nitrate showed remarkable increase in the level of nitrate higher than the WHO maximum limit of 10mg/l in months of June (11.25±1.08mg/l), July (15.54±3.17mg/l) and September (14.79±2.14mg/l). Generally, the values were observed to be higher during the rainy season compared to the dry season. This point to the possibility of increasing nitrate concentration as a result of run offs from farm lands due to application of chemical fertilizers. It was concluded that the Dutsin-ma Fadama  water is not potable for drinking due to the high nitrate content of the water, particularly during the rainy season.

Keywords: Water, Nitrate, Chemical fertilizers, Dutsinma Fadama land and WHO limits