THE EFFECT OF WELL DEPTH ON WATER QUALITY IN NEIBOURING VILLAGES OF RIVER NIGER AND BENUE IN LOKOJA KOGI STATE
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The effects of well depth on the physicochemical properties of well water of neighboring villages in close proximity to Rivers Niger and Benue were investigated. Wells up to 2.8 m depth and 300 m distance from the River were selected. These parameters were measured according to the standard method. A total of 120 samples of well water from these villages (Shintaku, Ganaja village, Gbobe and Lokoja metropolis) were taken and analyzed. Results showed that Total Suspended Solid, (TSS), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Turbidity and Total Hardness(TH), shows a range of 13-450 mgL -1, 57-905 mgl-1, 11.5-18 mgl-1 and 202-818 mgl-1 , respectively. Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD), and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) shows a range of 0.1-0.45mgl-1, 108-3and 0.08-0.75 mgL-1 while Electrical Conductivity (EC) and pH shows a range of 53.5-98.5μscm-1 and 5.9-7.5. Nitrate and Phosphate also show a range of 3.9-43 mgL -1 and 1.5-14.95 mgL-1 in the dry season respectively. Total Suspended Solid,(TSS), Total Dissolved Solid (TDS), Turbidity and Total Hardness(TH), shows a range of 13-450 mgL-1, 57-905 mgL-1, 0.611-140 NTU and 130-404 mgL-1 . Biochemical Oxygen Demand (BOD) and Chemical Oxygen Demand (COD) shows a range of 0.2-31 mgL-1 and 60-818 mgL-1 Electrical Conductivity (EC) and pH shows a range of 0.611-140 NTU, Nitrate and phosphate shows a range of 7.5 - 65mgL-1 and 3.1-13.5 mgL-1, respectively. During the wet season, it was found that the nitrate, turbidity and pH increased with depth of the well and the values of TS and TDS also increases positively with the wells proximity to the river in wet season, which was evident in their R2 Values (correlation coefficient) as they range from 0.7-0.8. Nitrate, turbidity and pH values of the well water were found to increase with depth in the dry season while Zn content increased with proximity of the well to the rivers. Therefore, good water management and geological survey must be employed for constructed wells in flood plains to have acceptable water quality.