COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY FROM HAND DUG WELLS AND BORED HOLES IN UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF WATER QUALITY FROM HAND DUG WELLS AND BORED HOLES IN UYO, AKWA IBOM STATE, NIGERIA

· ABSTRACT

·
Water quality analysis was conducted using the physical, chemical and biological analysis methods of water treatment for samples randomly selected from three (3) boreholes and three (3) hand dug wells in Uyo metropolis to determine their suitability for drinking in comparison of the WHO standards for drinking water. After the analysis, one (1) of the boreholes was found to be slightly acidic (pH 6.3) while others were within limit of WHO standards. The mean D.O for borehole (4.161mgl/l) were less than that of wells and did not meet the WHO limit. (5-14mg/l). The BOD of all samples did not satisfy the WHO limit of 2-4mg/l. lead concentrations in bored holes were slightly above WHO limits of 0.01mg/l. the concentration of ions (Fe4, Ca2+ and mg2+), sulphate, and Nitrate fell within the WHO limit. From analysis, it will be concluded that the different water sources are good sources of drinking water.

· 1.0 INTRODUCTION
1.0.1 BACKGROUND OF STUDY
According to WHO (2006), about 1.1 billion people lack access to improve drinking water supply. In most cities, towns and villages in Nigeria, valuable man-hours are spent on seeking and fetching water, often of doubt quality from distant sources (Efe, 2005). Uyo is a densely populated city Akwa-Ibom State, in south-eastern area of’ Nigeria. The high population density. poor sanitation habits and lack of enforcement of environmental Sanitation laws have contributed immensely to the pollution of water sources. Pollutants in groundwater can be from various sources mainly municipal (i.e. leakages from liquid waste and solid waste from land fill), industrial (i.e. liquid waste tanks and pipeline leakages, oil field and brines) and agricultural sources (i.e. irrigation return flow which are sometimes saline). These problems of acute water supply have resulted in the rapid increase or hand dug wells and boreholes with some located within the proximity of soak away and pit latrines.

· The quality of groundwater resource depends on the management of’ human waste as well as the natural physic-chemical characteristics of’ the catchments areas (Efe et al, 2005 Saha and Baba, 2004). Also, depending on the geology of an area. underground waters are typically rich in dissolved solids especially carbonates and sulphates ot’ calcium and magnesium. Other ions may also he present including chlorides and bicarbonates (Wikipedia, 2010). Hence, it is necessary to obtain physic-chemical characteristics of the groundwater so as to compare and monitor water quality and to determine the type of treatment that may be required before use.

· Generally, borehole water is considered to have better microbial quality than that of hand dug well water because borehole water is from deep aquifer while hand dug well water is from shallow aquifers which makes it more susceptible to microbial pollution (Linsley and others, 1979; Chilton, 1996).

· 1.1 STATEMENT OF PROBLEM
Groundwater sources are being increasingly used as drinking water yet, testing to see whether the water is of’ good quality is almost non-existent. Although, it is true that soils generally Function to reduce the effect of microorganisms by a simple filtration mechanism, especially larger bacterial and protozoa, pollution of groundwater by micro-organisms, especially the located near septic tanks or landfills significantly do occur.

· 1.2 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY
The objective of this study is carrying out water quality analysis on waler samples obtained from randomly selected hand dug wells and boreholes in iyo metropolis in order to ascertain;

· i) The level of some physical, chemical and bacteriological parameters present in the sample,

· ii) The level of suitability of the different sources to Who standards for drinking water quality.

· 1.3 SCOPE OF THE STUDY
The scope of this research work covers water quality analysis of water samples obtained from three randomly selected hand dug wells from Itak Mbak. Anua, and Nung Udoe and boreholes from Udoh Street, Oron Road and Ibiaku within Uyo metropolis.

· 1.4 LIMITATIONS
Usually, the metropolis has numerous hand dug wells and boreholes which make this research work restricted to the randomly selected boreholes and hand dug wells to represent the study area. This choice is due to the financial constraint that will be experience in carrying out analysis of water sample gotten from the different sources for the whole city. The research work is also limited to laboratory analysis carried out on water samples to obtain results.

1.5 SIGNIFICANCE OF THE STUDY
The importance of this study is to identify the groundwater quality conditions from various sources in Uyo metropolis. The major activity is the necessity to provide data and information on the level of physical properties. Chemical properties and bacteriological properties of hand dug wells and boreholes’ water samples in the Uyo metropolis of Akwa-Ibom State. It also gives a summary of the level of these properties investigated in the randomly selected sites within the study area.