Assessment of Drinking Water Quality from Chanchaga Area, Minna, Niger State, Nigeria

Abstract

he accessibility to safe drinking water is essential to prevent water-borne diseases like diarrhoea and cholera; thus, this study assessed the quality of drinking water sources available to the inhabitants of the Chanchaga area, Minna, Niger State. A total of twelve water samples consisting of four boreholes, four wells, and four tap water, including one from Chanchaga water works were collected and analysed for some physicochemical parameters and heavy metals using standard procedures. The results showed that the average physicochemical properties of tap, well and borehole water samples respectively, were pH, 6.60, 6.62 and 6.67, turbidity 1.58, 3.42 and 3.15 NTU, total suspended solids, 0.03, 0.09 and 0.00 mg/L, total dissolved solids, 0.96, 4.68 and 1.14 mg/L, total solids, 0.99, 4.79 and 1.14mg/L, electrical conductivity, 158.25, 799.25 and 778.25 µЅ/cm, alkalinity, 13.50, 50.00, and 117.50 mg/L, chloride,18.75, 74.00 and 47.25mg/L, total hardness65.50, 227.75 and 149.50 mg/L, while the heavy metal concentrations in tap, borehole and well water samples were Cu, 0.02, 0.20 and 0.33 mg/L, Mn, not detected, 0.23 and 0.32, Pb was not detected in all the samples and Fe, 0.21, 3.10 and 2.12 mg/L respectively. All the parameters analysed were below the maximum permissible limits specified by WHO except the total hardness of well water and concentration of Fe in well and borehole water, which were above the maximum permissible limits. It can be concluded that the three sources of water at different locations in the study area are safe for human consumption at the time this research was conducted.