Assessment of the quality of ground water from selected waste dumpsites at Warri, Nigeria

Abstract

Ground water and leachates samples from three dumpsites located in Warri, Delta State, Nigeria were studied to assess the impact of solid waste on ground water resources in the area. Ground water samples were collected from holes drilled to depth of 3 meters at all three dumpsites. Leachate samples were collected from the dumpsite vicinities, while water samples were collected from seventeen existing boreholes and eight open hand-dug wells within the study areas. The depth to water table in the study area ranged between 1.5 – 3.0 m. The water samples in all three locations had mild to high iron concentrations (0.01-0.9 mg/L) and mild to high acidity (4.47 – 6.95). The high acidity in almost all water samples is related to products of anaerobic decomposition of wastes, while the iron concentrations were higher than WHO limits of 0.1 mg/L and could be attributed to the location of such boreholes and wells close to the dumpsites. The presence of such dumpsites therefore is a potential source of pollution to the ground water because of shallow depth of water table and the closeness of dumpsites to source of drinking water.

Keywords: Ground water quality, boreholes, wells, leachates, waste dumpsite

International Journal of Natural and Applied Sciences, 6(3): 337-341, 2010