Hydrochemical Characteristics and Quality Assessment of Groundwater from Umuogadu Oshia, Ngbo, S.E, Nigeria

Abstract

This study has evaluated the Hydrochemical characteristics of Umuogadu Oshia, Ngbo, Southeastern Nigeria. 12 representative groundwater samples in the study area were collected and analyzed using different analytical techniques. The pH range from 7.8 to 8.8, temperature from 27.00 to 29.00 ⁰C, electrical conductivity (EC) from 10.0 to 1754.00 μS/cm, total dissolved solid (TDS) from 10.0 to 786.0 mg/l and total hardness (TH) from 14.0 to 271.0 mg/l. The analytical results present the abundance of the ions in the following order: Mg > Ca > Na > K and Cl > SO₄ > HCO3 > NO₃ > CO₃. This hydrochemical profile reflects a Na-Cl dominated water type suggesting impact of saline water on the groundwater system. The major ions concentrations are within recommended WHO (2011) standard for drinking water. Estimated major ionic ratios such as Mg/Ca (0.0286 to 8.619), HCO₃/Cl (0.033 to 0.125) confirmed the transformation of fresh water to saline water due to impact of saline water mixing. Piper trilinear diagram for the study area shows that there is only one types of water with Ca and Cl as the major dominant ions.

Keywords: Hydrochemical characters, Umuogadu Oshia and Quality assessment.