Assessment of Physicochemical Properties and Heavy Metals in Borehole Water Used For Drinking In Okada Town, Edo State, Nigeria

Abstract

The consumption of unsafe water is detrimental to human health. It is therefore important to ascertain the quality and purity of water set out for drinking. This paper investigates the physiochemical properties of drinking
water obtained from boreholes located at various sites in Okada town,  Nigeria. The assessment of physicochemical properties and heavy metal contents of groundwater (borehole) quality were evaluated. Ten water samples labeled A-J were collected from boreholes at different locations in Okada community and subjected to laboratory test to determine the pH, biological oxygen demand (BOD), chemical oxygen demand (COD),  dissolved oxygen (DO), hardness, turbidity, total organic carbon, total dissolved solids, electrical conductivity, and concentration of phosphates, nitrates, lead, sodium, calcium and chloride. The pH in the water samples is an indication of acidity and the WHO standard for pH value is specified within the range of 6.5-8.5. However the pH values obtained for the samples are A(4.37), B(4.44), C(5.06), D(4.86), E(6.40), F(4.25), G(5.95), H(4.53 ), I(6.61) and J(5.70). This implies that only the sample I of pH value 6.61 falls within the WHO standard and safe for drinking. Thus, the water from the community can only be considered safe to drink except a neutralizing filter is incorporated into the water system in other to avert the implications of consuming acidic water.

Keywords: borehole, physicochemical-parameters, chemical-oxygen-demand, dissolved- oxygen