Effects Of Physicochemical Parameters On River Jakara Water Quality In Kano Metropolis, Nigeria

River Jakara is a major source of water for Kano city, and its pollution is of great concern due to the potential health and environmental consequences. The study therefore examined the effects of the physicochemical parameters on it. Eight sampling points that conveys wastewater to River Jakara were purposefully established and a total of 96 water samples were collected at different locations from June 2021 – April 2022 during wet and dry season. Using the Principal Components Analysis (PCA), 9 physicochemical parameters and 2 microbial colonies were chosen and subjected to laboratory analysis. The results showed that the wastewater contributed significantly to the river pollution for concentrations of all the pollutants exceeded the Nigeria discharge standards such as National Environmental Standard Regulatory Enforcement Agency (NESREA, 2011). Laboratory analysis recorded high concentrations of parameters: temperature 38°C, pH 12, turbidity (TUR) 38NTU, electric conductivity (EC) 3861mg/L, total hardness (TH) 574mg/L, total dissolved solid (TDS) 3915mg/L, dissolved oxygen (DO) 7.5mg/L, biological oxygen demand (BOD) 185mg/L, nitrate (NO) 283.5mg/L, total coliform 395cfu/100ml and escherichia coli (E.coli) 452cfu/100ml in wet season. The T-test analysis indicated a strong significant variation between wastewater loads and the water quality parameters as well wet and dry season at P = .05. The results suggested that discharge of wastewater into the river had adversely affected its water quality and could pose a great risk to aquatic life and public health. Therefore, effective management strategies are needed to reduce wastewater loads and improve the water quality of River Jakara.