Effects of Land-Uses on the Quality of Imabolo Stream in Ankpa Urban Area of Kogi State, Nigeria

Abstract

This study examined the effects of land-use on the quality of Imabolo stream in Ankpa urban area of Kogi State, Nigeria. The objective is to examine how the diverse land-use types along the stream environment affect pollutant load of the stream which is used extensively for domestic purposes by the residents. To achieve the aim of the study, water samples were collected from seven locations along the stream reach corresponding to the identified land-uses in the study area in March and June, 2014. Eighteen physico-chemicals and two microbiological parameters were analyzed using standard procedures. Descriptive statistics were used to analyze the data obtained. The results were also compared with WHO and NSDWQ standard for drinking water quality for characterization. The analysis revealed six water samples had elevated values of parameters above the recommended limits for human consumption. Descriptive statistics revealed consistent variations in the concentrations of parameters in water samples among land-use zones, while student t-test showed significant difference (p<0.05) in the quality of water samples between dry and rainy seasons. Water samples from commercial, educational, industrial and residential land-uses returned the highest levels of pollutants concentration. This is probably due to high intensity of human activities within these land-use types. The study advocated apposite recommendations to remediate and improve the quality of the stream water in these areas in order to reduce the risk to which the growing urban population is exposed to.

DOI: 10.5901/ajis.2015.v4n3p271