TITLE:
Assessment of Heavy Metal Concentration in Hand Dug Well Water from Selected Land Uses in Wukari Town, Wukari, Taraba State, Nigeria
AUTHORS:
Kehinde T. Oyatayo, Godwin A. Songu, Greatest A. Amos, Christopher Ndabula
KEYWORDS:
Heavy Metals, Hand Dug Well Water, Water Pollution, Safety Standard
JOURNAL NAME:
Journal of Geoscience and Environment Protection,
Vol.3 No.9,
November
9,
2015
ABSTRACT: Hand dug
well water remains the major source of domestic (drinking) water in the city of
Wukari. This study was aimed at the assessment of heavy metal concentration in
hand dug well water from four land uses of abattoir (A), waste dump site (B),
residential (C) and commercial (D) in Wukari Town, Wukari, Taraba State. There
are about 76 hand dug wells in the study area and for the purpose of this study.
Yamane (1967) sample size technique was adopted. Based on this, 95% confidence
level and an error limit of 5% were adopted. Thus, four (4) samples A, B, C and
D of hand dug well water purposively drawn from the study area used sterilized
bottles. The heavy metals tested for in the water samples include: zinc (Zn),
copper (Cu), manganese (Mn), iron (Fe), potassium (K), phosphate, and chromium.
The results of the analyses were compared with the NSDWQ*MPL and FEPA (2001)
standards. The results shows that the concentration of magnesium and manganese
in hand dug well water samples A, B, C and D had higher concentrations than the
maximum permissible limits of NSDWQ*MPL and FEPA (2001) standards and the
concentration of zinc, copper, iron, potassium, phosphate and chromium in hand
dug well water sample A, B, C and D was at different compliance level with
NSDWQ*MPL and FEPA (2001) standards. ANOVA (F-ratio) statistics at P_0.05 for
variation in heavy metal concentration in hand dug well water from land uses A,
B, C and D were insignificant. For
now, it can be concluded that hand dug well water in Wukari Town is fit for
domestic use, but that efforts should be made to reduce the magnesium and
manganese concentration by having control on the anthropogenic factors that
lead to such high concentration levels or else, soon this source of water may
become unfit for domestic use. It was recommended that aggressive public
awareness and enlightenment on possible impacts of hand dug well water
pollution from human activities should be embarked upon by relevant agencies.