Assessment of the Water Quality of Saba River, Osogbo, Nigeria

Abstract

The water quality and concentrations of selected heavy metals (cadmium, lead, and zinc) in Saba River, Osogbo were assessed monthly over a period of six months with a view to providing information on the water quality of the potentially polluted urban river system. Three sampling sites were selected along the Saba River (the upper reach of the river (Station A), mid-point of the river (Station B) and the lower reach of the river where it emptied into River Osun (Station C)). The recorded ambient air and water temperature, pH, alkalinity conductivity, total hardness, BOD and COD, as well as the phosphate and nitrate levels of Saba River, were within the maximum allowable regulatory limits of WHO (2011). The dissolved oxygen level between March and April in all the sampling points were in the limit of putting aquatic life under stress (<5.0 mg/L). Also the alkalinity level in station B between February and June, and in Station C from February till May were however above the maximum allowable desirable range of EPA (2001) and WHO (2011). The concentration of zinc, which ranged from 717 to 1,000 µg/L, was the highest amongst the selected metals assayed in the water. However, the mean concentration of lead in the water samples collected from Stations B and C (26 µg/L and 24 µg/L, respectively) was found to be above recommended regulatory acceptable limits of 20 µg/L of WHO (2011) and FEPA (2007). The study concluded that the physico-chemical indices of the water quality indicated that the river was mildly polluted.

Spatial and temporal variations of physical-chemical parameters of the Akor River in Ikwuano local government of Abia state, Nigeria

“…The TDS values obtained in the present study were the same or higher than those recorded by Amah-Jerry et al ( 2017) on the Aba River, and on the Ossah River, Umuahia, both in Southeast Nigeria. However, the results obtained in the present study were rather lower than in the study of Flura et al (2016) in the Meghna River, Bangladesh, and Yusuf et al (2017) on the Saba River, Osogbo, Nigeria. Similarly, higher values of TDS were recorded by Ewa et al (2011) in the Omoku Creek and Makinde et al (2015) in the Ekerekana and Buguma Creeks, both in the Niger delta, Nigeria.…”

“…Disposal of detergents, contaminated sewage and direct washing of clothes in water, as well as application of fertilizer, pesticides and other agrochemicals to crop plants, cause PO 4 3contamination of water body (Anyanwu and Ukaegbu, 2019). PO 43values recorded in this study were generally poorly compared to the data of Yusuf et al (2017), Amah-Jerry et al ( 2017), Osibanjo and Adie (2007), who studied the Nigerian rivers. However, the PO 4 3values were within the range obtained by Anyanwu and Emeka (2019) for the Ikwu River and by Anyanwu and Ukaegbu (2019) in Umuahia Abia state, Southeast Nigeria.…”

“…Chemical oxygen demand values recorded were higher compared to 2.0-7.0 mg/L recorded in Aba River, Aba by Amah-Jerry et al ( 2017) and 14.95-31.47 mg/L recorded in Saba River, Osogbo, Nigeria by Yusuf et al (2017) but lower than 425.0-1675 mg/L recorded in Illo River, Ota, Nigeria by Omole and Longe (2008) and 444.0-1508 mg/L recorded in a stream in Gboko, Nigeria by Ubwa et al (2013). The highest COD values were recorded in April 2019 and declined afterwards; a trend observed by Yusuf et al (2017). The COD values indicated that the Akor River was mildly polluted.…”

Nutrients: B-Vitamin Content Methionine, Micronutrients and Oestrogen of Osun River: A River that Runs Southwestern Nigeria into the Atlantic Gulf of Guinea

“…The results from this study revealed that the Osun river water is slightly brownish and highly alkaline pH. This is in concordance to the findings of Shomar [15], who reported alkaline pH for zamzam water and disagrees with the reports of Yusuf et al, [5] which reported a weak alkaline pH in Saba River. The slightly brownish colouration might be attributed to the dissolved organic materials, environmental pressure due to human activities from settlements along the river, flood inflow from rainfall and rituals performed during festival that attract thousands of people (NCMM, 2005) [6], other anthropogenic factors which affect the properties of the water [16] and inorganic contaminants, such as metals, are also common causes of color.…”

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river-water is one of the peculiar water bodies in Southern western Nigeria. The river has a lot of myth around it, prominent of which is the therapeutic potentials of the water which has raised concern in the scientific circle and thus leading to several research documentation on the heavy metal constituent and the postulation that the water is not safe for drinking and general usage as it may constitute health consequences [3][4][5]. As against previous reports which concentrated on Heavy metals, our group explore the beneficial content of the widely used Osun River water, this was necessitated by the fact that despite scientific reports, indigenes and devotee kept using the water, all background checks showed there were no proclaimed scientific hazard, thus we evaluated the water from beneficial point of view with believe that our findings might support the traditional and domestic use of this water.

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