ASSESSEMENT OF WATER QUALITY FOR DOMESTIC USE IN IDEME RIVER OF OKPOKWU LOCAL GOVERNMENT AREA OF BENUE STATE, NIGERIA

This study is aimed at assessing the water quality for domestic use in Ideme river of Okpokwu Local Government Area of Benue State, Nigeria. The study adopted both primary and secondary methods of data collection. The analytical research design was adopted and the target population for the study is 176,647 people who are residents of the study area. Water samples were taken from three sampling points, Upstream, Midstream and Downstream along the Ideme River line and were analysed in the laboratory for the presence of selected heavy metals, some disease causing microorganisms and the water quality index, using standard procedures. Results obtained were subjected to Analysis of Variance and p< 0.05 was considered to indicate statistical significance. A comparison of the mean concentration of the selected heavy metals with the World Health Organization-WHO Standard For Drinking Water indicates that the concentrations of Pb 0.015mg/l, Co 0.026mg/l, Cr 0.06mg/l and Cd 0.005mg/l in the Ideme river are higher than the permissible limit except for Cu 0.85mg/l and Zn 3.36mg/l. There was no significant difference in the concentration of heavy metals across the studied stations (P>0.05). The results obtained shows Vibro Cholerae is 21cfu/ml at the Downstream, E.Coli is 22cfu/ml at the Upstream, Salmonella is 7cfu/ml at the Midstream and Entamoeba Hystolitica is 19cfu/ml at Downstream. At the sampling points, the Water Quality indexes were 66.02%, 70.80% and 75.90% respectively. These values fell in the poor water range of 51 to 75% on the Water Quality Index Scale. This implies that the Ideme River has a poor water quality and consequently not suitable for drinking and other domestic use. It is recommended that the Okpoga people, community leaders and other community based non-governmental organizations ensure that there are best sanitary practices around the Ideme river through awareness creation on the health risks associated with consuming untreated water from Ideme river due to the high concentration of some heavy elements and presence of disease causing microbes and that the government should initiate projects for the construction of sustainable portable water facilities in Okpokwu.