Abstract: Basically the pollutants accumulated in the river bed sediment affect the bio-community through food chain for a long period of time, and this is as a result of suspended sediment adsorbs pollutants from flowing water in rivers and deposits onto the bed. To study this problems the concentration of heavy metals (Cr, Cd, Cu, Zn, and Pb) in water and sediment were investigated in River Taraba at Bali, from September 2018 to February 2019. The potential sources of water contamination are geological conditions, industrial and agricultural activities, and water treatment plants. Poor water quality affects not only aquatic life but the surrounding ecosystem as well. The mean value of the water quality parameters at the study area are; temperature is 28.16 oC, pH is 8.18, conductivity is 38.55, DO is 7.11 and TDS is 3.05. The values of water quality parameters collected from different point of the river were found to be within the recommended limits of WHO and NDWQS. The concentrations of the heavy metals were also measured and found to be well below the standard maximum concentrations. Similarly, the mean value of heavy metal concentration in the sediment were as follows; Cr = BLD, Cd = 0.059 mg/kg, Cu = 17.52 mg/kg, Zn = 1.753 mg/kg, and Pb = 0.025 mg/kg. Hence the result revealed that heavy metals concentration in the sediment were within Food and Agricultural Organization (FAO)/WHO limit. Concentrations of heavy metals in the sediment and the water were within the recommended limit for fish and fish products. Therefore, these metals have no immediate health threat on the consumers of fish and fish products from River Taraba at Bali, but periodic monitoring of heavy metals in River Taraba is recommended since the river serves as a source of fish and water for all-year-round irrigational farming. These measurement efforts of water quality can also assist in restoration projects or ensure environmental standards are being met. Thus, the results of the present study can serve as baseline data for these species and for comparisons with future studies.
Keywords: Water Quality, Sediment pollution, Heavy Metals, River Taraba.
Title: Water Quality and Heavy Metals Concentrations in River Taraba at Bali
Author: Haruna Ibrahim, Nasiru Yahaya Ahmed, Abdulrahman Adamu
International Journal of Engineering Research and Reviews
ISSN 2348-697X (Online)
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