Septic Tanks Contamination on Groundwater Quality around Elementary Schools in Ibadan, Oyo State Nigeria

Abstract

Septic tanks are constructed to hold raw domestic effluent that contains human waste, fecal matter and suspended material which may  affect the quality of groundwater. A total of 30 water samples were collected in duplicate for both public and private primary schools for  analysis of their physicochemical quality and biological analysis using standard method. The value for physicochemical parameters was  within permissible limits (WHO) except for DO with high value in School C. Iron (Fe) values for all the water samples ranged from 0.18 to  0.66 mg/l, which was above the WHO (1998) permissible limit. The microbial parameters were above the WHO recommended limit of zero. School C (Farayola) had both the highest Escherichia coli and total coliform with 24 and 43 (cfu/ml) respectively. However,  monitoring, awareness and management measure should be put in place by authorities.