Effect Of Urban Waste On The Water Quality Of Mmiriocha River Inabakpa, Enugu State

Abstract

The indiscriminate dumping of urban wastes in surface water bodies in urban and semi-urban areas in Nigeria has become a growing menace to humans and natural ecosystem. This study tried to access the effect of urban waste on Mmiriocha river quality located in Abakpa, Enugu state. Water samples were collected at four different points considering various human activities that generate and discharge wastes into the river such as abattoir, raw sewage from homes, open dumps along the river course, and were analysed following established standard for water quality analysis. Parameters assayed includes pH, turbidity, temperature, total hardness, biochemical oxygen demand, chemical oxygen demand, dissolved oxygen, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, nitrates, phosphates, electrical conductivity, coliform count, e.coli and aerobic mesophilic count. Data collected were analysed using analysis of variance statistical technique and the result obtained show that there is a significant difference between the concentration of the physicochemical and microbiological water quality parameter and the WHO standard and that the concentration of these parameters also vary significantly amongst the sampling points (P=0.000). There was an unacceptable increase of some of the assayed parameters above the threshold limit of WHO for domestic use such as the e.coli, coliform count, aerobic mesophylic count in all the four sampling points. Other parameters such as turbidity, electrical conductivity, total dissolved solids, total hardness, chemical oxygen demand also showed increase above WHO threshold limit in various sampling points. The study has revealed that the indiscriminate dumping and discharging of urban waste into the river especially from the abattoir, drainages, from homes, open dumps has a significant adverse effect on the concentration of some of the assayed physicochemical and microbiological water quality characteristics and this poses a threat for the local community and ecosystem at large. It is recommended that effective management and provision of waste management facilities in addition to enforcing legal framework and public enlightenment is urgently required to ameliorate its nuisance level on water, health and environment at large.