ABSTRACT

An increase in industrialization, urbanization, and the rising demand for food and other essentials for human sustainability leads to a rise in the amount of waste being generated daily by individuals, communities, and nations. In Abia State, particularly at the central entrance into the city of Umuahia, generated waste is thrown into open dump sites, causing a severe impact on soil, surface and ground water qualities. As a result, it has become a probable source of human health risk. Therefore, this study is aimed at assessing the effect of solid waste dump sites on surrounding soil and water qualities in Umuwaya Road, Umuahia, Abia State Nigeria. Three soil samples and three borehole water samples were collected and analyzed at different points for the groundwater quality and soil auger for the varying depths of 0-15cm, 15-30cm, 30-45cm respectively labelled A, B, C and point D served as the control which was collected 1000m away from the dumpsite. Heavy metals from soil and borehole water were measured by using flame atomic absorption spectroscopy according to the method of APHA 1995. The physicochemical properties of the soil and water samples were also determined following standards. The data was analyzed using the descriptive SPSS statistical package. The concentration of heavy metals in soil samples revealed copper (0.01±0.00–0.26±0.07), cadmium (0.00±0.00–0.18±0.01), lead (0.03±0.01–0.40±0.03), iron (0.06±0.01–0.58± 0.02) and zinc (0.02±0.01–0.20± 0.04). All the water parameters and heavy metals screened in the samples were within the World Health Organization (WHO) and Nigeria Standard for Drinking Water Quality (NSDWQ) permissible limits, respectively. More so, it was observed from the result, that the concentration of the metals increased with places closer to the dump especially during the dry season and were largely at a reduced level with soil samples from the control site as well as the physical properties of water showed that the ground water had more aggregate of sand, followed by clay and then silt respectively. It is recommended that indiscriminate waste disposal should be prohibited completely in the capital city. Waste reduction, Recycling, Re-use and Sorting of all waste types should be promoted by the citizens of the state for a sustainable future.