WET AND DRY SEASON WATER QUALITY PARAMETERS OF THE MIDDLE REACHES OF ORASHI RIVER, NIGER DELTA

Abstract

Every living creature needs water to survive. The quality of water is important as it plays a vital role in the distribution and abundance of organisms. The present study was conducted to assess the water quality of Orashi River in both dry and wet seasons between October 2017-September 2019. Water samples collected from ve stations were taken to the laboratory and analysed for BOD, Total Hardness, Sulphate, Nitrate, Chloride, Total Alkalinity, Phosphate and trace metals. Other parameters such as Temperature, pH, Salinity, DO, EC, TDS and Turbidity were measured in-situ in the eld using Extech water checker. Temperature, Salinity, Conductivity, TDS, DO, CL,NO , Zn and Fe were high during the dry season. Results when compared with National 3 Environmental Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (NESREA) standard showed that there was minimal inuence from anthropogenic activities. Overall water Quality for dry season was 178.66, while that of wet season was 162.57. The WQI for dry and wet seasons indicate that the surface water of Orashi River at these stations is not t for consumption. Strong positive correlations were between pH and TDS, pH  and Phosphate, TDS with BOD, Phosphate with TDS, Phosphate with BOD, Phosphate with Temperature and Nitrate with THC. Signicant but negative correlations were Temperature with Salinity, TDS with Salinity, Temperature with Turbidity, Phosphate with Salinity and Sulphate with Turbidity.