Water Quality Assessment of Nkesa River, Rivers State, Nigeria

The study assessed the water quality parameters of the Nkesa River in comparison with National and International standards. In most urban-rural communities in developing countries especially Sub-Saharan Africa, surface waters (rivers, streams, and lakes among others) have been the most available sources of water used for domestic purposes. The water from these sources is contaminated with domestic, agricultural, and industrial wastes and is likely to cause water-related diseases. The study was carried out at Nkesa River, located in Ogba Egbema Ndoni Local Government Area in Rivers State in the Niger Delta region of Nigeria, and lies between latitude 5⁰27’32.5" N and longitude 6⁰42'38.1" E. The samples were collected at the three different sampling points with 35cl plastic containers. There was a linear correlation among temperature, conductivity, and Dissolved oxygen and this correlation revealed that, due to anthropogenic activities, the water quality deteriorated increasingly as the water travelled from Site 1 to Site 3. The physicochemical parameters – pH, water temperatures, conductivity, Total Dissolved Solid, Total Suspended Solid, Hardness and Alkalinity were within the limits recommended by USEPA (2010) for the survival of aquatic organisms, as well as WHO (2004) for drinking purposes. However, the values of Dissolved Oxygen, Chemical Oxygen Demand and Biochemical Oxygen Demand, fell outside these limits. It is therefore recommended that, an urgent need to properly manage wastes in the cities and monitor anthropogenic (human) activities is germane, to ensure minimized effects on these parameters of Nkesa River. Sensitization should be carried out to educate the people on the dangers of ingestion. The need for constant monitoring of the levels of contamination to assess the impact of the heavy metals cannot be underestimated. Further study on the concentrations of hydrocarbons should be carried out in consideration of oil spillage in the area. This is necessary since the river serves as a source of drinking water, irrigation and fisheries for the local inhabitants.