Physicochemical Characteristics of Borehole Water Sources in a Tertiary Educational Institution in Katsina, Katsina State, Nigeria

Abstract

Physicochemical parameters are very crucial to get the exact idea about the quality of water in order to protect the natural ecosystem and also compare data obtained with standard values. This study focuses on determining the physicochemical properties of borehole water samples distributed within a tertiary educational institution in Katsina, Nigeria using standard methods. Data obtained reveals that, the pH of the water samples ranged from 6.75 – 7.78, Temperature 24.5 – 31.5^oC, Dissolved oxygen (DO) 3.79 – 4.98 mg/L, Biological oxygen demand (BOD) 0.25 – 1.32 mg/L, Turbidity 0.78 – 10.00 NTU, Electrical conductivity 56.85 – 220.00 µS/cm, Total dissolved solids 2.25 – 19.00 mg/L, Total hardness 3.32 – 7.24 mg/L. Chlorides and Sulphate levels ranged from 0.95 – 5.99 mg/L and 0.17 – 0.34 mg/L respectively. Analysis of Variance (ANOVA) revealed significant differences in most values obtained at different sites at P ≤ 0.05. The water quality within the institution fell within the permissible standards of the WHO and therefore safe. However, the study recommends continuous surveillance of the water supplies at different seasonal intervals in order to determine any effect of seasonal variation on the quality of water and the commercialization of the water supplies into a table water factory in the nearest future.