INVESTIGATION OF GROUND WATER QUALITY DURING THE DRY SEASON IN RIVERS STATE, NIGERIA: A CASE STUDY O F PORT HARCOURT METROPOLIS

Abstract

This research is to investigate the quality of ground water in boreholes and hand-dug wells during the dry
season in six locations in Port Harcourt metropolis of Rivers State. The locations are Rumuola, D-line and
Trans-Amadi, which use borehole while Elechi Beach, Gbundu and Ozubuko still use hand-dug wells.
The parameters analysed were iron, chloride, hardness, and pH. Others were total dissolved solids (TDS),
ammonia (free and saline), and E-coli. Results indicated that for iron, all except Ozubuko with a value of
0.32mg/l
content unless a more suitable supply is available. For parameters such as chloride and hardness, the
the water
samples from all the locations were acidic, falling short of the standard (6.5 8.5) specified by WHO
although samples from Rumuola with the highest value of 6.66 fall within the WHO range and hence
acceptable. Ammonia levels in the water samples from all the locations were within the recommended
value by WHO, with the highest value (5.01) coming from Trans-Amadi, which indicates the
highest level of biological reductions in this water. Finally and of greater significance too, is the fact that
no E-coli was found in all the samples except that from Gbundu waterside with a level of 3 x 10³ as
against zero recommended by WHO. This therefore makes the hand-dug well water from Gbundu
warterside unsuitable for human consumption.