Impact of Abattoir Waste on the Water Quality of Amilimocha River Asaba, Delta State (Published)
Water pollution has been a major environmental problem globally. This study investigated the effects of abattoir waste on the water quality of Amilimocha River in Asaba, Delta State, Nigeria. Water samples were collected from three sampling locations upstream L1, point of discharge L2, downstream L3, and a control sample L4. Samples were immediately taken to the laboratory for standard analysis. Salinity varied from (0.01 – 0.06%), conductivity (56.70 – 85.10µs/cm), DO (7.80- 8.55mg/L), BOD (3.00 – 6.21mg/L), COD (8.95 – 15.5mg/L), TDS (20.00 – 53.00mg/L), turbidity ( 23.00 – 41.50 NTU), NO3 (0.16 – 0.35mg/L), P042- ( 0.02 – 0.6mg/L), temperature ( 26.00 – 29.10oC), pH ( 6.50 – 8.20) and coliform bacteria counts (10.00 – 50.00 cfu/100ml). There was significant heterogeneity in mean variance of the water quality parameters across the sampling locations [F(31.09)>Fcrit(3.94)] at P<0.05. A further structure detection group means revealed that all the parameters contributed to the observed heterogeneity. Mean concentration of DO and BOD (8.22 0.73 and 5.10 0.37mg/L) respectively exceeded the World Health Organization 6.80 and 4.0mg/L maximum permissible limits for aquatic life. Abattoir wastes should be properly treated before disposal and freshwater systems should not serve as recipients of untreated abattoir waste.
Keywords: Abattoir Waste, Amilimocha, Asaba., Human Health, Water Quality, river