Groundwater Quality Assessment In Eliozu Community Port Harcourt Niger Delta Nigeria

Abstract Potable water is an essential ingredient for good health and the socio-economic development of man. Groundwater is an important natural resource for this. The majority of the Nigerian population depends on groundwater for drinking. Thus availability of clean groundwater is of utmost importance. Hence quality assessment was carried out to ascertain the groundwater quality in Eliozu Community in ObioApkor Local Government area of River State Nigeria. The study assessed the level of contamination and quality of the groundwater of randomly selected boreholes. Water quality analysis was performed on samples collected from thirty 30 boreholes within Eliozu community for the following physicochemical parameters pH temperature Electrical conductivity total dissolved solids TDS total hardness salinity dissolved oxygen DO biochemical oxygen demand BOD chemical oxygen demand COD nitrate chloride Cu and Zn using standard methods. The result from the present study showed that the pH of groundwater samples ranges from 5.5 8.0 indicating slight acidity in some of the water samples. The values for electrical conductivity salinity and total hardness were ranged between 10.1 25.4 uScm 0.001 0.45 mgL and 3.59 381.9 mgL respectively and were all within the World health organisation WHO Department of petroleum resources and Federal environmental protection agency FEPA maximum permissible limits. The COD chloride nitrate and heavy metal content of water samples were also within WHO DPR and FEPA permissible limit. This indicates that most of the physicochemical properties of the tested water samples were within the WHO DPR and FEPA permissible limits however water samples from borehole points 5 16 22 25 28 and 30 were slightly acidic those from borehole points 2 17 18 and 30 had DO levels below the WHO recommended limits of 6.0 mgL while BOD was higher than the WHO recommended limits of 5.0 mgL in most of the study locations. It was evident from this study that water samples from Eliozu community were possibly contaminated as a result of its DO and BOD values it was therefore recommended that there should be regular monitoring of these physicochemical parameters from groundwater sources in Eliozu and other Niger Delta communities to ensure quality water supply for human health.