CHAPTER ONE

INTRODUCTION

1.1 Background of the Study

Water is renewable natural resource of earth and sustains the needs of all living

creatures in the world and health depends on the availability of drinking water. It is

considered a basic human right and a part of effective policy for protection of health.

Groundwater is one of the major sources of drinking water in both urban and

rural area and the quality comprises the physical, chemical, and biological properties

of ground water. Quantity and Quality Management of groundwater presents the best

of current thinking on managing groundwater resources. It focuses on the

interrelationship between quantity and quality. Potable ground water is an essential

resource, yet it is exploited and contaminated in developed and developing area.

Water quality has significant role in human health and both natural and

anthropogenic effects govern the quality of ground water within a region. Availability

of potable drinking water is essential to human health all over the world. If

groundwater contains high amount of various ions and salts, using it for leads to

various water borne diseases.

Groundwater is considered as one of major part of the purest forms of water

available in Nature to serve the needs of rural and urban people. Major part of the

Oke-Ila in Ado-Ekiti area populace depends upon freshwater supplies from open

wells, ponds, bore wells, natural springs etc. In addition to this, also groundwater is

continuously used for irrigation in rural area. Due to increased human population,

growth of industrial activities, dumping of industrial waste, improper disposal of

garbage, use of fertilizers in agriculture and manmade activities, quality of water is

polluted in most areas. Rapid growth in population and the quick pace of

industrialization required more potable water and this need affected the quality of

water enormous use of fertilizers and poor conditions in agricultural development led

to the damage of human health. Taking all these factors are consideration, the

researchers conclude that people should have at least minimum knowledge on quality

of drinking water.

The groundwater quality is assessed to find out the presence of physio-

chemical substances and these substances widely change due to the conditions like

pollutions of various types, variations in monsoon and overutilization of potable

groundwater etc. Therefore, it is mandatory to monitor the quality of potable ground

water to alleviate the problem of pollution in water and pollution causing agents are to

be controlled. Human welfare has directly related to the quality of ground water.

Therefore, monitoring the water quality is one of the essential issues of drinking water

management. This research work attempts to evaluate some physical and chemical

parameters of potable groundwater in the selected locations of area in Oke-Ila Ado-

Ekiti, Nigeria.

1.2 PROBLEM STATEMENT

Water problems base in quantity and quality at Oke-Ila area in Ado-Ekiti region

has been an endless issues. Regardless the Ministry of water resources and other

institutions of water work hard to ensure at least each part of this region obtain water

for domestic uses.

 There are many sources for water supply in Oke-Ila such as rivers (Elemi

River), shallow wells, boreholes, springs and rainwater harvesting. Quantity and

quality depend on the sources and methods for water treatment before use.

Most of the western parts of Nigeria experience water shortage and poor

quality of water that is used for domestic water or industrial purpose. This is because

most of these areas are not connected to the city water supply network transmission

(only 40% of consumers are in the system of city water supply water) and poor quality

of water from the sources that are mostly used by people living in those areas. The

common water sources used water supply in these areas is water from ground water

(shallow wells and boreholes).

Water problems in term of quality lead to eruption of water borne diseases like

cholera and dysentery. This is due to water pollution such as poor location of the wells

from the location of pit latrine, poor waste disposal that pollute the ground water i.e.

from industries, toxic chemical are buried into the ground and dissolve rocks and soil

minerals. When water has been polluted even if the water quantity is of high amount

that water will have no meaning to the consumers.

1.3 OBJECTIVE OF THE STUDY

To assess source of water to Oke-Ila inhabitant

To assess different water treatment methods that are commonly used by people at
Oke-Ila area of Ado-Ekiti
To determine the best method and cheap that can be used to treat ground water at
mentioned area.
To determine the physical and chemical properties of ground water sources around
Oke-Ila, Ado-Ekiti.

1.4 SCOPE OF THE STUDY

The study is based on finding out the physical and chemical properties of ground water
sources at Oke-Ila area of Ado-Ekit in Ekiti State, Nigeria

Methods to be used to improve the ground water quality (best and cheap method for
water treatment).
Physical properties of ground water in Oke-Ila Ado-Ekiti
Chemical properties of ground water in Oke-Ila Ado -Ekiti
 CHAPTER TWO

2.0 LITERATURE REVIEW

2.1 Ground Water

Ground water is water located beneath the ground surface in soil pore spaces

and in the fractures of litho logical formations. This water forms as the part of the

natural water cycle present in aquifers (layer of porous substrate that contains and

transmits groundwater). Groundwater has many very important functions in

agricultural, municipal and industrial use. It is of vital importance to maintain the

appropriate level of quantity and quality of discharging groundwater as this has

significant impact on surface-water quality.

Most of people live at Oke-Ila depend much on ground water as main source

for water supply. Whereby there many individual wells at their residential areas and

some are company wells that supply water by sell to people, these wells has help to

reduce water shortage at Oke-Ila since there is no DAWASA water to the most of Oke-

Ila streets.

2.1.1 Ground water origin and occurrence

Ground water occurs in both consolidated and unconsolidated formations.

Ground water bearing formations sufficiently permeable to transmit and yield water in

usable quantities are called aquifers, which can be categorized into three types.

a) confined aquifer,

b) unconfined aquifer and

c) leaky aquifer (semi confined aquifer).

 Water yield from these three types of aquifer may differ in term of the quantity

and quality. In most of southern area areas the water table is very high means

groundwater is easy to extract some distance below ground surface.

Confined aquifer

It is a formation in which ground water is held under pressure between two

impermeable beds or aquiclude. A confined aquifer is always under pressure because

of the weight of the overburden and hydrostatic head. This can create artesian wells

that flow freely without a need of the a pump or rise to a higher elevation than the

static water level (SWL) at the above, unconfined aquifer if a well penetrates the

confining layer, water will rise to the piezometric level.

Unconfined aquifer

It is a formation which is bounded below an aquiclude and above by water

table Since ground water occurs within geological formation is important also to know

the hydrological classification of the geological form aquitards are geological

formation or bed of low permeability along an aquifer. An aquitard is a zone within

the earth that restricts the flow of groundwater from one aquifer to another.

Aquiclude is a formation which contains water but cannot transmit it rapidly

enough to significant supply to well or spring aquifer are geological formations that

has no interconnected openings therefore cannot hold or transmit water. Aquitards

comprise layers of either clay or non-porous rock with low hydraulic conductivity.

Factors influencing the ground water occurrence

Hydraulic properties are the properties that govern ground water storage and

transmission. This includes pores, lava tubes, solution cavities, bedding planes, faults,

unconformities, intrusive contacts

Geological frames work

This includes topography, types of geology formation, physical and chemical

characteristics of unconsolidated deposit overlaying bedrocks.

Climate

Climate has great influence on the occurrence of ground water, for example in

area having sufficient amount of rainfall the level of ground water will rise due to the

water which percolated into the ground (ground water recharge)

2.2 GROUND WATER QULITY

Ground water quality tends to vary due to different geological formation. The

chemical and biological character of ground water is acceptable for most uses. The

quality of ground water in some parts of the country, particularly shallow ground

water, is changing as a result of human activities. Ground water is less susceptible to

bacterial pollution than surface water because the soil and rocks through which ground

water flows screen out most of the bacteria. Bacteria, however, occasionally find their

way into ground water, sometimes in dangerously high concentrations. But freedom

from bacterial pollution alone does not mean that the water is fit to drink. Many

unseen dissolved mineral and organic constituents are present in ground water in

various concentrations. Most are harmless or even beneficial though occurring

infrequently, others are harmful, and a few may be highly toxic.

 Water is a solvent and dissolves minerals from the rocks with which it comes in

contact. Ground water may contain dissolved minerals and gases that give it the tangy

taste enjoyed by many people. Without these minerals and gases, the water would

taste flat. The most common dissolved mineral substances are sodium, calcium,

magnesium, potassium, chloride, bicarbonate, and sulfate. In water chemistry, these

substances are called common constituents.

Factors affecting ground water quality

i. Chemistry of soil and geologic layers

ii. Depth of aquifer from ground level

iii. Biological activities

iv. Domestic and industrial waste if the source is near houses or industries

2.3 GROUNDWATER POLLUTIONS

The simplest groundwater pollution definition would be an introduction of

certain pollutant(s) into the groundwater which reduces the quality of groundwater

making its use very limited, or in some cases impossible. Many different chemicals

and various synthetic products we use today are usually the main causes of

groundwater pollution.

In assessment of the ground water quality is important to know various ways

that can result to ground water pollution.

i. The pollutants on groundwater can be due to waste disposal saline water

intrusion

ii. Pollution under natural condition

iii. Leachate generation

 iv. Waste disposal

Most pollution originates from the disposal of waste water following the use of

water for any of a wide variety of purposes. Thus a large number of source and causes

can modify the quality of ground water. The principle causes of ground water

pollution are municipal, industrial, agriculture and miscellaneous, for wastes from

industries and municipal most of it are buried into the ground as a result when the

level of ground water rises the solids dissolves in the water thus leads to the

contamination of ground water.

At Ado-Ekiti ward in one of the street called Oke-Ila waste disposal is done at

which is free for all people to disposal their waste, this place was selected as dumping

area because they wanted the wet land to disappear because during heavy rain it used

to flood the house nearby. But now it has been a big problem if the floods happen all

wastes are carried back to peoples house example in 2014 on March one of children

was killed because of heavy rainfall that course flood at dumping area.

Figure1: oke-Ila dumping area at Ado-Ekiti in western Nigeria

2.4 SALINE WATER INTRUSION

Saline water is most common pollutant in fresh ground water. This where saline

water displaces or mixes with fresh water in the aquifer. The phenomenon can occur in

deep aquifer with the upward advance of saline water of geologic origin, in shallow

aquifer from surface waste discharges and in coastal aquifers from an invasion of sea

water.

Figure 2: Shows saline intrusion

2.5 POLLUTION UNDER NATURAL CONDITION

The quality ground water at any particular location in an aquifer is determined

by the chemical composition of the precipitation that recharges the aquifer and the

sequence of the rock types through which the water has passed as it has traveled from

the earth surface to that. Because of the diversity of the geologic environments,

natural ground water quality varies considerably from one place to another

Leachate generation

This result from the pit latrine, septic tanks, ponds and polluted wet lands, most

of oke-Ila area ground water quality has been loose due to Leachate generation from

the pit latrines which are very close to their wells.

Figure 3: shows the source of ground water pollution

2.6 WATER QUALITY

Water quality describes the condition of the water including chemical, physical

and biological characteristics. It is measured by several factors such as the

concentration of dissolved oxygen, bacteria levels, the amount of salt and amount of

the suspended in water (turbidity). Determination of water quality is typically made

relative to the purpose the water can be for drinking or other activities, poor quality of

water can pose a health risk for people and ecosystem.

In Nigeria water quality base on domestic water supplied to the community

should be free from particles and pathogens hazardous to human being and livestocks

whilst taste, colour and odor should be kept at low limits acceptable to consumers.

2.7 WATER PARAMETERS

PH is a measure of a solution's acidity. In water, small numbers of water

molecules (H2O) will break apart or disassociate into hydrogen ions (H+) and

hydroxide ions (OH-). Other compounds entering the water may react with these,

leaving an imbalance in the numbers of hydrogen and hydroxide ions. When more

hydrogen ions react, more hydroxide ions are left in solution and the water is basic
when more hydroxide ions react, more hydrogen ions are left and the water is acidic.

PH is a measure of the number of hydrogen ions and thus a measure of acidity.

PH is measured on a logarithmic scale between 1 and 14 with 1 being

extremely acid, 7 neutral and 14 extremely basic. Because it is a logarithmic scale

there is a tenfold increase in acidity for a change of one unit of pH, e.g. 5 is 100 times

more acid than 7 on the pH scale. The largest variety of freshwater aquatic organisms

prefers a pH range between 6.5 to 8.0.

Turbidity

Turbidity is a measure of how particles suspended in water affect water clarity.

It is an important indicator of suspended sediment and erosion levels. Typically it will

increase sharply during and after a rainfall, which causes sediment to be carried into

the creek. Elevated turbidity will also raise water temperature, lower dissolved

oxygen, prevent light from reaching aquatic plants which reduces their ability to

photosynthesize, and harm fish gills and eggs. Material that causes water to be turbid

includes; clay, Silt, microscopic organisms, plankton and soluble colored organic

compounds.

In Oke-Ila area water from shallow well is seems to have of high turbidity since most

of pit latrine are near the wells during rainy season there is Leachate from pit latrine

that contact with ground water.

Figure 6:water from shallow well at Kiwalani

Figure 4:water from shallow well at Oke-Ila area

Conductivity

This is a measure of the capability of a solution such as water in a stream to

pass an electric current. This is an indicator of the concentration of dissolved

electrolyte ions in the water. It doesn't identify the specific ions in the water. However,

significant increases in conductivity may be an indicator that polluting discharges

have entered the water.

Every creek will have baseline conductivity depending on the local geology

and soils. Higher conductivity will result from the presence of various ions including

nitrate, phosphate, and sodium.

Table1, below shows the variation of electrical conductivity for different water

sources

Water Conductivity Temperature

Pure water 0.055 250C
Distillated water 0.5-5 250C
Rain water 5.0-30 250 C
Ocean water 4500-55000 250C
Normal ground water 30-2000 250C
 The basic unit of measurement for conductivity is micromhos per centimeter

(mhos/cm) or microsiemens per centimeter (S/cm). Either can be used, they are the

same. It is a measure of the inverse of the amount of resistance an electric charge

meets in traveling through the water. Distilled water has a conductivity ranging from

0.5 to 3 S/cm, while most streams range between 50 to 1500 S/cm. Freshwater

streams ideally should have conductivity between 150 to 500 S/cm to support

diverse aquatic life.

Dissolved Oxygen

Dissolved oxygen is oxygen gas molecules (O2) present in the water. Plants

and animals cannot directly use the oxygen that is part of the water molecule (H2O),

instead depending on dissolved oxygen for respiration. Oxygen enters streams from

the surrounding air and as a product of photosynthesis from aquatic plants.

Consistently high levels of dissolved oxygen are best for a healthy ecosystem.

Levels of dissolved oxygen vary depending on factors including water

temperature, time of day, season, depth, altitude, and rate of flow. Water at higher

temperatures and altitudes will have less dissolved oxygen. Dissolved oxygen reaches

its peak during the day. At night, it decreases as photosynthesis has stopped while

oxygen consuming processes such as respiration, oxidation, and respiration continue,

until shortly before dawn.

Human factors that affect dissolved oxygen in streams include addition of oxygen

consuming organic wastes such as sewage, addition of nutrients, changing the flow of

water, raising the water temperature, and the addition of chemicals.

Dissolved oxygen is measured in mg/L.

0-2 mg/L: not enough oxygen to support life.

2-4 mg/L: only a few fish and aquatic insects can survive.

4-7 mg/L: good for many aquatic animals, low for cold water fish

7-11 mg/L: very good for most stream fish

Nitrate

Nitrogen is abundant on earth, making up about 80% of our air as N2 gas. Most

plants cannot use it in this form. However, blue-green algae and legumes have the

ability to convert N2 gas into nitrate (NO3-), which can be used by plants. Plants use

nitrate to build protein, and animals that eat plants also use organic nitrogen to build

protein. When plants and animals die or excrete waste, this nitrogen is released into

the environment as NH4+ (ammonium). This ammonium is eventually oxidized by

bacteria into nitrite (NO2-) and then into nitrate. In this form it is relatively common

in freshwater aquatic ecosystems. Nitrate thus enters streams from natural sources like

decomposing plants and animal waste as well as human sources like sewage or

fertilizer.

Nitrate is measured in mg/L. Natural levels of nitrate are usually less than 1 mg/L.

Concentrations over 10 mg/L will have an effect on the freshwater aquatic

environment. 10 mg/L is also the maximum concentration allowed in human drinking

water by the U.S. Public Health Service. For a sensitive fish such as salmon the

recommended concentration is 0.06 mg/L.

Water with low dissolved oxygen may slow the rate at which ammonium is converted

to nitrite (NO2-) and finally nitrate (NO3-). Nitrite and ammonium are far more toxic

than nitrate to aquatic life.

Chloride ion

Chloride ions are most presence in chlorine gas and it compounds. Chlorine is a

greenish-yellow gas that dissolves easily in water. It has a pungent, noxious odor that

some people can smell at concentrations above 0.3 parts per million. Because chlorine

is an excellent disinfectant, it is commonly added to most drinking water. In parts of

the world where chlorine is not added to drinking water, thousands of people die each

day from waterborne diseases like typhoid and cholera. Chlorine is also used as a

disinfectant in wastewater treatment plants and swimming pools. If water contains a

lot of decaying materials, free chlorine can combine with them to form compounds

called trihalomethanes or THMs. Some THMs in high concentrations are carcinogenic

to people. Unlike free chlorine, THMs are persistent and can pose a health threat to

living things for a long time (carcinogenic health problems). In usage of chlorine for

water treatment should be well careful because much concentration can irritate eyes,

nasal passages and lungs, it can even kill in a few breaths and the formation of THM

compounds must be minimized because of the long-term health effects.

Chlorine is also used as a disinfectant in wastewater treatment plants and

swimming pools. It is widely used as a bleaching agent in textile factories and paper

mills, and its an important ingredient in many laundry bleaches.

Hardness

Hardness is a measure of the amount of calcium and magnesium in water.

When water is combined with carbon dioxide to form very weak carbonic acid, an
even better solvent results. As water moves through soil and rock, it dissolves very

small amounts of minerals and holds them in solution. Calcium and magnesium

dissolved in water are the two most common minerals that make water "hard." The

degree of hardness becomes greater as the calcium and magnesium content increases

and is related to the concentration of multivalent cations dissolved in the water.

Hard water interferes with almost every cleaning task from laundering and

dishwashing to bathing and personal grooming. Clothes laundered in hard water may

look dingy and feel harsh and scratchy. Dishes and glasses may be spotted when dry.

Hard water may cause a film on glass shower doors, shower walls, bathtubs, sinks,

faucets, etc. Hair washed in hard water may feel sticky and look dull. Water flow may

be reduced by deposits in pipes.

2.8 WATER TREATMENT

` Water treatment is, collectively, the industrial-scale processes that make water

more acceptable for an end-use, which may be drinking, industry, or medicine. Water

treatment is unlike small-scale water sterilization that campers and other people in

wilder ness areas practice. Water treatment should remove existing water contaminants

or so reduce their concentration that their water becomes fit for its desired end-use,

which may be safely returning used water to the environment.

The processes involved in treating water for drinking purposes to provide a safe

source of water supply may be solids separation using physical processes such as

settling and filtration, and chemical processes such as disinfection and coagulation.

For most people, the term "water treatment" refers to potable water production from

raw water, whereas "wastewater treatment" refers to the treatment of polluted water,
where the pollution could be from human waste, industry, agricultural waste or other

sources of pollution. Water treatment will depend on water source the water is

collected.

2.9 WATER PURIFICATION

Water purification is the removal of contaminants from untreated water to

produce drinking water that is pure enough for the most critical of its intended uses,

usually for human consumption. Substances that are removed during the process of

drinking water treatment include suspended solids, bacteria, algae, viruses, fungi,

minerals such as iron, manganese and sulfur, and other chemical pollutants such as

fertilizers.

Measures taken to ensure water quality not only relate to the treatment of the

water, but to its conveyance and distribution after treatment as well. It is therefore

common practice to have residual disinfectants in the treated water in order to kill any

bacteriological contamination during distribution.

World Health Organization (WHO) guidelines are generally followed

throughout the world for drinking water quality requirements. In addition to the WHO

guidelines, each country or territory or water supply body can have their own

guidelines in order for consumers to have access to safe drinking water.

2.10 METHODS FOR GROUND WATER TREATMENT

Groundwater has been a preferred source of drinking water because of the

general perception that it is of higher quality, less vulnerable to contamination, and

requires less intensive treatment than other types of water.

 Pump-and-treat is one of the most widely used ground-water remediation

technologies. Conventional pump-and-treat methods involve pumping contaminated

water to the surface for treatment. This guide, however, uses the term pump and

treating a broad sense to include any system where withdrawal from or injection into

ground water is part of a remediation strategy. Variations and enhancements of

conventional pump and treat include hydraulic fracturing as well as chemical and

biological enhancements.

Air stripping is a process in which contaminated water is passed through a

column filled with packing material while upward-flowing air removes chemicals

from the water. In general, these vapors should not be released directly into the air and

therefore, should be appropriately treated.

Filtration Method,

Filtration simply stated, removes suspended matter from water by mechanical

"screening" (Sometimes the word "filtration" is used [incorrectly] to refer to all types

of water treatment). Basic filters usually are porous beds of insoluble material. Other

examples include cast forms, plates of sheet material, synthetic membranes, and finely

perforated plastic or specially sized beds of inert particles. Suspended silt, clay,

colloids, and some microorganisms are removed by the filtration process. Simple

cartridge filters may be effective for low levels of turbidity.

In-situ Flushing

Oil flushing involves pumping flushing solution into groundwater via injection

wells. The solution then flow down gradient through the region of contamination

where it desorbs solubilized, or flush the contaminants from the soil or groundwater.
After the contaminants have been solubilized, the solution is pumped out via

extraction wells located further down gradient. At the surface, the contaminated

solution is treated using typical wastewater treatment methods, and then recycled by

pumping it back to the injection wells (USEPA, 1991; Roote, 1997). Plain water or

carefully developed solution (e.g. surfactant/co solvent) is used as flushing solutions.

However, one must select the type and concentration of flushing solution to optimize

contaminant desorption and solubilzation.

In-situ flushing causes less exposure of the contaminants to clean-up personnel

and the environment. It is a simple and easy operation as compared to other

technologies. It is applicable for a wide variety of contaminants, both organic and

inorganic contaminants. It may be a slow process when heterogeneities such as soil

layers or lenses of less permeable (less than 105cm/s) or organic materials are

located within the soil horizon. Since the contaminants are solubilized into the

solution, they may be transported beyond the extraction well and unintentional

spreading of the contamination may occur. Remediation times may be long and the

effectiveness of the process largely depends on solution, contaminant, and soil or K.R.

Reddy 268 groundwater interactions. Remediation depends strongly on the ability of

the solution to desorb and solubilized the contaminant. The process may be costly

with contamination located at large depths or with expensive solutions and long

remediation.