ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY TO DETERMINE ITS PORTABILITY

ASSESSMENT OF WATER QUALITY TO DETERMINE ITS PORTABILITY

(A CASE STUDY OF BOSSO MARKET AREA, MINNA, NIGERIA)

ABSTRACT

Bosso town in Bosso Local Government Area in Niger State was one of the towns facing the problem of good drinking water (good water quality )  especially during the dry season in Niger State and Nigeria as a whole. Adults and children of this village were suffering from water borne diseases such as typhoid fever, skin rashes, diarrhea, and guinea worm as the time this research was carried out due to consumption of contaminated of water. This research was therefore conducted to determine the microbiological, physicochemical and physical parameters so as to assess the level of contamination. This was done by subjecting the collected water samples from four selected water sources (Borehole, Open well, Tap and Dam) in Bosso town to comprehensive microbiology, physicochemical and physical analysis using standard analytical procedure. The result of this study reveals that Chloride (Cl) and Iron (Fe^+) content were below the NSDWQ and WHO guideline, while E.coli and Total coliform values exceeded the permitted levels of NSDWQ and WHO guideline. Parameters like Colour, Turbidity, Temperature, Electrical Conductivity (EC), pH, Total Dissolved Solids (TDS) Total Suspended Solids (TSS), Total Solids (TS), Total hardness, Calcium (Ca^(+2)), Magnesium (Mg^+ ), Nitrate (NO_3^- ), Nitrate as nitrogen (NO_2^- ), Sulphate (SO_4 ), Sodium (Na), Copper (Cu) were found to be within the permitted range recommended by NSDQW and WHO. This low and high values obtained for some of these parameters might had their health implications, except for nitrate hence the need to improve upon the quality of this water sources was suggested. This study therefore reveals that the selected water sources in Bosso community, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria is not safe for drinking, and water treatment plant could be built to improve the water quality.