Effects of Discharge Effluents from Kaduna Refinery on River Rido, Kaduna, Nigeria

The study assessed the effects of effluents from Kaduna Refinery and Petrochemical Company on the quality of water from River Rido. A total of seventeen samples were taken for the study; comprising of five control samples at interval of 1km from each other before the point of discharge of effluents from the refinery, and twelve samples after the point of discharge at interval of 1km each every sampling month. The transient method was used to determine sampling points along the river. The water samples were taken at two different periods; raining and dry seasons. The parameters determined were temperature, pH, total suspended solids, total dissolved solids, turbidity, conductivity, alkalinity, dissolved oxygen,biochemical oxygen demand, sulphate, phosphate, nitrate and chloride. The metals determined in the water samples were As, Cd, Cu, Cr, Fe, Mn, Ni, Hg, Pb and Zn. The findings reveals that the concentrations obtained for physiochemical parameters were all higher than those obtained for the control samples in both dry and wet seasons. The results of the physicochemical parameters showed that all the concentration values obtained for these parameters in water were below the tolerable or permissible levels recommended by regulatory bodies except for turbidity that had values higher than the tolerable or permissible levels. The general irrigation water quality parameters values are within the standard guidelines recommended by FAO and therefore, the water from this source is fit for irrigation.