Effect of Abattoir Activities on the Ground Waters around Bodija and Akinyele Abattoirs in Oyo State

This study was carried out to examine the effect of abattoir activities on ground waters around Bodija and Akinyele abattoirs in Oyo state. The work was premised on the fact that untreated wastes from the abattoir are discharged directly into open drainage which flows into a nearby stream. Sixty structural questionnaires were administered and retrievedin the study areas with thirty used in each of the two abattoirs. The survey shows that 100% of the abattoir operators in both abattoirs disposed wastes manually using spade, 90% sweep and wash the wastes into open drainages as 90% do treat their wastes before disposal at the dumping site. Physical, chemical and microbiological analysis of water samples from the well around the two abattoirs revealed no significant different in the two abattoirs. Turbidity, Total dissolved solid (TDS), and total suspended solid (TSS) were significantly higher in Akinyele abattoir than Bodija abattoir. Total coliform count (TCC) was 6.3x105 in the well around Bodija abattoir and was not significantly lower than that around Akinyele abattoir which was 7.6x105. Although Total aerobic count (2.1x106) was higher in the wells around Bodija than those around Akinyele (1.7x106) the result clearly shows that both total aerobic count and total coliform count are beyond the maximum permissible limits from bodies in charge of Health and Environment. Biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) in Bodija (5.06) was also significantly higher than that of Akinyele (2.95). This result shows that more pollutants are present in the wells around Bodija abattoir. The high microbial load and its health implications confirm the need to enforce treatment of abattoir wastes before dumping into the environment and provision of portable water for the abattoir operators and the dwellers around the abattoirs.