Assessment of some Heavy Metals and Physicochemical Parameters in Water from Hand-Dug Wells in Demsa and Environs in Adamawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Predominantly, the inhabitants of Demsa and environs use shallow hand-dug wells as a primary source of drinking water but this water source is vulnerable to contamination from various external sources due to lack of protection, thus, the geological conditions and anthropogenic activities of the people living in the area. Therefore, the objective of this paper is to assess the levels of some heavy metals and physicochemical parameters in water from Hand-Dug Wells in Demsa and Environs in Adamawa State, Nigeria using appropriate standard methods. The results obtained reveals that the mean concentrations (mg/L) of metals and physicochemical parameters were calcium (4.236), magnesium (3.702), cadmium (0.104), sodium (9.400), copper (0.003), iron (0.132), potassium (14.200), manganese (0.148), zinc (0.004), lead (0.000), chromium (0.000), arsenic (0.000), nickel (0.008), sulphide (0.473), chloride (0.450), phosphate (4.040), fluoride (0.286) and nitrate (46.19). The results further showed that the concentration (mg/L) values for magnesium (3.702), cadmium (0.104), phosphate (4.040) and nitrate (46.19) were all above the acceptable limits of WHO, FEPA and NSDWQ. As a precaution, a systematic approach to removing heavy metals from groundwater sources in the study area is proposed, using techniques like chemical precipitation, ion exchange, or reverse osmosis.

Keywords

• Contamination; hand-dug wells; heavy metals; physiochemical characteristics; groundwater