Assessment of Pollution Status of Wataridam Using Selected Physiochemical Parameters in Kano State, Nigeria

The variations in selected physico-chemical factors were investigated for three seasons of the years to determine the water quality of Watari reservoir which are pH, Temperature, Conductivity, Turbidity, Total Dissolved Solid(TDS), Total Hardness(TH), Biological Oxygen Demand(BOD), Dissolved Oxygen(DO), Chemical Oxygen Demand(COD), Suspended Solid (SS), Chloride Cl- , Nitrate (NO2 - ), Nitrite (NO3 - ), Phosphate (PO4 2- ) were analysed using standard procedure. Four sampling sites (WFA, WFB, WFC and WFD) were chosen on the Dambased on the geographical positioning The mean values of these parameters indicate the effectiveness of the treatment process on suspended solids, turbidity, NO3 - and colour. The ranges of these factors were found to be comparable to those reported for other African reservoirs except for nitrogen and phosphate which were foundin higher concentration above freshwater limits. Runoff of nitro-phosphate and sulphate fertilizers from nearby farm lands and washing of cows dungs from the watershed into the reservoir were found to have caused cultural eutrophication in the reservoir. There is significant variation (P <0.05) between the values of colour, nitrate, phosphates temperature, suspended solids and conductivity, observed for the three seasons. The overall quality of Watari reservoir was found to be within the WHO recommended value for drinking water. It is therefore recommended that proper attention need to be given to the water body by appropriate authorities due to its possible health implication on the consumers through continuous monitoring so as to track any adverse environmental changes in the dam