article · Heliyon
A baseline assessment of domestic water sources across rural and urban districts in Southeastern Nigeria evaluated 124 samples collected from natural springs, streams, boreholes, and hand-dug wells. Testing for 21 trace elements and general water quality indices demonstrated that almost all sampled sources possess good or excellent quality, with only a single borehole rated as poor. Aluminium and iron were identified as the dominant pollutants in the sampled water bodies. Multivariate statistical analysis identified six source profiles explaining over 70 percent of the elemental variance, differentiating between natural rock weathering and human contamination. Anthropogenic activities largely introduced copper, lead, cadmium, chromium, lithium, and phosphorus, whereas minerals and bedrock accounted for aluminium, arsenic, and iron. Overall health risk calculations indicated little to no danger from potentially toxic elements.
Access to clean drinking water is fundamental to public health. Confirming that domestic water supplies in this shale bedrock region present little to no toxic health risk provides reassurance to local communities. Distinguishing between geological trace metals and human pollution helps environmental planners and municipal managers direct future protective measures, targeting specific contaminants such as lead and aluminium at their actual sources.
This work is early-stage baseline research rather than a commercial product. The data and statistical models can directly inform regional environmental consultancies, municipal water authorities, and filtration equipment suppliers designing targeted treatment solutions for dominant contaminants like aluminium and iron. Operational adoption remains at the planning and monitoring level, dependent on integration into regional water management programmes and pollution surveillance strategies.
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This baseline study investigated the physico-chemical and trace elements (including potentially toxic elements, PTEs) contents of ground and surface water sources used for domestic purposes in some districts within the shale bedrock terrain of Southeastern Nigeria. A total of 124 water samples from 13 natural springs, 24 streams, 80 boreholes and 7 hand-dug wells were collected from rural and urban areas and analysed by ICP-OES, GF-AAS and CV-AFS for 21 elements. The distribution pattern, sources of contamination, health risk of potentially toxic elements (PTEs), together with water quality index were investigated. The results were compared with national and international guidelines for drinking water. Al and Fe were implicated as the dominant pollutants in the water bodies. Water quality index (WQI) indicated that all the water sources had either excellent or good water quality (WQ) with the exception of a borehole, which had poor WQ. Different multivariate statistical approaches applied to evaluate the origins of the elements in the water bodies identified six source types that accounted for 70.88% of the total variance. Anthropogenic activities were considered to contribute much of Cu, Pb, Cd, Cr, Li and P, while Al, As, Co, Fe, Se, Ni, Y and V were likely from crustal materials, minerals and ores, and natural environments. Both anthropogenic and natural sources accounted for the Hg, Mn and Zn. Cluster analysis (CA) was adopted to classify 124 sample points into two groups of water pollution, reflecting influences from crustal materials and anthropogenic sources. From the result of hazard quotient and index (HQ/HI), there is little or no health risks arising from PTEs in using water from the region.
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DOI: 10.1016/j.heliyon.2019.e01123
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