Environmental Impact of Automobile Wastes on Surface Water Quality in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria

ABSTRACT The negative impact of operations in informal auto mechanic workshops is a major public health concern, and its effect on surface water pollution cannot be overlooked. This current work evaluates the environmental impact of automobile waste on surface water quality in Ebonyi State, Southeast Nigeria. A total of 108 surface water samples were taken in 2022 and 2023 from Abakaliki, Onueke, and Afikpo streams, and WHO as controls using standard analytical methods. Data sets were analyzed using Fisher's Significance Least Difference (F‐LSD) at the 0.05 probability level. The study showed that surface water appearance was slightly brown, and the observed upstream is acidic in nature, the midstream is alkaline, and the downstream is natural. Water samples from Abakaliki, Onueke, and Afikpo streams were observed to be hard since their concentration levels were above the WHO standard. Furthermore, the high concentrations of heavy metals (Pb and Mn) as well as the oil and grease content indicate that the surface water in the area of study is polluted and its overall quality is degraded. The study therefore concluded that automobile waste had a negative influence on the surface water quality in the study area. Based on these new findings, it is recommended that automobile waste be properly treated and disposed of to avoid their adverse effects on surface water quality. In addition, given the uncontrolled development of these informal auto workshops across the nation in recent years, there is a need for the execution of environmental standards connected to automobile service activities.