Article Sidebar
DOI:
10.4314/mejs.v7i2.7Article Details
The Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science accepts the manuscripts for consideration with the understanding that the manuscript has not been published and is not under consideration for publication elsewhere. Only original articles will be considered for publication if they have been published previously as abstracts, but not if they have been published previously as extended abstract (>1000 words). This applies to both electronic and print versions of the journal. The authors should assign copyright ownership to the Editorial Office of MEJS in the event that the manuscript is accepted for publication in the Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science. All accepted manuscripts must be accompanied by a copyright statement signed by all authors. A copy of the copyright form will be supplied along with the final reviewed version of the manuscript that is sent for final proof- reading. Authors may make multiple copies of the form if necessary and send to the Editorial Office with author’s signature(s) even individually.
All articles published by Momona Ethiopian Journal of Science (MEJS) are Open Access under the Creative Commons Attribution License (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0). Under this license, authors retain ownership of the copyright for their content, and anyone can copy, distribute, or reuse articles as long as the author and original source are properly cited. In all these cases for re-use, the authors will be given proper credit to the original publication in MEJS.
Main Article Content
Investigations of Physico-Chemical Parameters and its Pollution Implications of Elala River, Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia
Abstract
The purpose of the study was to assess the water quality parameters of Elala River found in Mekelle, Tigray, Ethiopia. Four sampling sites were chosen spatially along the water course to reflect a consideration of all possible activities that are capable of affecting the quality of the river water. The water samples were collected monthly for three consecutive months (March to May, 2014) at the four sampling sites. In order to understand the characteristics of Elala River, principal component analysis (PCA) was utilized using 22 water quality parameters: water temperature, electrical conductivity, turbidity, pH, total solids, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, total alkalinity, total hardness, calcium, magnesium, chloride, sulfate, nitrate-nitrogen, nitrite-nitrogen, ammonium-nitrogen, total nitrogen, dissolved oxygen, biological oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, orthophosphate and total phosphorus. Among the 22 studied water quality parameters: electrical conductivity (904.11 to 2156.11 μS/cm), turbidity (21.07 to 34.99 NTU), total dissolved solids (700.22 to 1328.22 mg/L), total alkalinity (131.85 to 267.26 mg/L), total hardness (198.67 to 478.67 mg/L), chloride (47.32 to 259.43 mg/L), calcium (65.13 to 146.99 mg/L), chemical oxygen demand (16.02 to 32.53 mg/L), sulphate (271.82 to 384.07 mg/L), nitrate-nitrogen (6.82 to 62.38 mg/L), orthophosphate (0.03 to 0.14 mg/L) and total phosphorus (0.04 to 0.19 mg/L) were above the prescribed limit of WHO guidelines for drinking purposes, while all analyzed water quality parameters fall within the FAO standard limit for irrigation purposes. The water is thus not potable for domestic purposes without some forms of physical and chemical treatment while it is useful for agricultural purposes.
Keywords: Elala River, Water quality, Correlation Matrix, Principal Component Analysis, Mekelle, Ethiopia.
