AN ASSESSMENT OF TIlE EFFECTS OF LAND USE PRACTICES ON AGBA DAM IN ILORIN USING A REMOTE SENSING TECHNIQUE

Abstract

The way we use the land has direct impacts on the nearby water bodies. Land use practice around Agba Dam varies from agricultural practices to residential purposes. Agricultural areas have the potential to pollute the water in many ways. Runoff on farms carries sediment, nutrients salts, pesticides and fertilizer, thus the water in the reservoir is contaminated with these pollutants. When livestock graze along the edges of the reservoir, they increase sedimentation in the dam, and when the vegetation is overgrazed, it result in erosion. Land use areas of residential purposes yield the greatest amount of pollutant to the Agba dam via domestic sewage. Domestic sewage from the residential buildings around the dam includes all wastewater from baths, sinks, basin and other sources. Four stations were located around Agba dam and physico-chemical parameters were observed and analyzed in the laboratory. The low dissolved oxygen in the 4 stations indicates that the dam is under pollution stress. The dam is also being encroached upon by man's activities around the dam. This VlI has caused a reduction in the size of the dam from what was observed in the aerial photograph of 1982 and what is on ground now (2003).