HARVESTED RAINWATER QUALITY FROM DIFFERENT ROOF TYPES WITHIN THE URBAN AREAS OF UGHELLI, DELTA STATE, NIGERIA

The Niger Delta Region has a lot of water, but due to pollution, most of it is not useable for domestic purposes (such as cooking and drinking). The alternative to surface water that forms the aquifer is either polluted or too expensive to construct, especially since the devaluation of the Naira. This leaves the locals in most towns with rainwater as an option and Ughelli is no exception. Rainwater therefore is a veritable option for domestic use. This study assesses the quality of harvested rainwater from different roof types within the urban areas of Ughelli, Delta State, Nigeria. The study deploys the cross-sectional design and a total of 43 samples for each roof-types were collected in the peak rainfall months of June, July and August. After collection, the water samples were kept in the refrigerator at 0.40C for preservation and sent to the laboratory for analysis. The results of the rainwater physicochemical properties were compared with World Health Organization (WHO) standards, while ANOVA was used to determine the variation in the quality of rainwater in the different roof-types. Results showed that the water samples were safe for all characteristics except for Lead Iron and Zinc; although different in quality at p<0.05 (F- 9.104; Sig-0.000). The study therefore recommends the need to remove suspended impurities from rainwater through the addition of a required amount of aluminum sulphate.