ASSESSMENT OF GROUNDWATER QUALITY IN A VICINITY OF MUNICIPAL DUMPSITE AT ENYIMBA JUNCTION ARIARIA, ABA, ABIA STATE.

Awuchi, Chibueze Gospel¹; *Eze, Chinwe Catherine²; Okomah, Yvette Esama³;
Daniel, Ogbite, Ekotogbo⁴; Aniefiok, Ukpeh Emem⁵

^1,4,5Department of Environmental Management, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;

²Department of Microbiology, Federal University of Technology Owerri, Imo State, Nigeria;

³Nigeria Atomic Energy Commission, Abuja, Nigeria.

*Corresponding Author

ABSTRACT

Solid waste mostly garbage, agriculture and industrial waste are disposed in landfills where it decomposes and produces a leachate that can contaminate underlying groundwater. Waste management has remained an undisputable environmental problem in Nigeria. This has manifested in the form of indiscriminate disposal of wastes and illegal landfills and dumps along main roads and streets, and the problem is compounded by the generation of enormous quantities of waste. In the developing world such as Nigeria, borehole water users hardly treat water before usage and this poses a serious threat to their health since they utilized this untreated water for consumption, domestic uses, agriculture and industrial purposes. Some groundwater studies have ascertained that leachates from landfill migrate in the direction of groundwater flow to contaminate the underlying aquifer. The study assessed the vulnerability of boreholes located close to a Municipal dumpsite in Ariaria, Aba. Borehole water samples were collected from eight (8) designated boreholes and their physicochemical parameters were analysed. The length, breadth and depth of the dumpsite were measured with a tape and meter rule. The length of the landfill was 560m, the width 330m and the depth 110m. Geographical positioning system (GPS) was used to obtain the static water level from where the groundwater flow map was deduced. Parameters such as BOD, DO, Fe²⁺, Ni²⁺, Zn²⁺, faecal and total coliform count values when compared with World Health Organization standard (WHO) were seen to exceed the recommended values. The research revealed that groundwater flow from the North to South, carrying along with it dissolved waste materials and leachates which infiltrates into the borehole water and contaminates it, thereby rendering it unsuitable for drinking and domestic use. The researchers therefore suggested that the base of landfills should be properly coated with concrete or cellophane materials to avoid leachates infiltrating into the groundwater. Recycling of municipal waste, proper education and awareness on solid waste management should be encouraged in the study area.

Key Words: Groundwater, Landfill, solid waste, leachate, contaminants, Garbage, infiltration.