African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management

African Journal of Environmental and Waste Management ISSN 2375-1266 Vol. 12 (2), pp. 001-018, February, 2025. Available online at www.internationalscholarsjournals.org © International Scholars Journals

Full Length Research Paper

Assessing Water Quality and Portability of Rivers in Rivers State, Nigeria: A Physicochemical Analysis

*Ukpaka C. P. and Chuku J.

Department of Chemical/Petrochemical Engineering, Rivers State University of Science and Technology, Nkpolu, P.M.B. 5080, Port Harcourt, Nigeria

Accepted 14 August, 2024

The research work was focus on examining the physiochemical parameters of some rivers within Rivers state (Port Harcourt, Obi Akpor, and Oyigbo) as well as the portability of the river water for human utilization and for agricultural purposes. Based on these physiochemical parameters results obtained from the various rivers indicate high level of contamination. All the four rivers sampled, results obtained revealed that the industrial activities is one of the major agent of pollution. These findings cast some doubt because many communities living within the river area fish daily and use the fish for domestic cooking as well for human consumption as no relative effect on the body system for now. Some of the communities use the river water for drinking and washing. The oral examination on the quality and effect of the river water to them indicate positive answer “no effect on us’’ the water is good for human utilization. In conclusion, the results obtained from the research work indicate high level of pollution. Although the effect on people is insignificant for now, but in the next ten years the effect on the people will be significant, if they continued to use these rivers water as a source of their drinking water. The toxicity of the river water will also be high in such a way that it will be corrosive in nature and bad for inhabitant.

Keywords: Investigating, Physiochemical Parameters, Portability, Rivers Water, Nigeria.