ABSTRACT

Determination of the certain major and trace elements in Imo River in Imo State was carried out. This work aims to identify trends resulting in the deterioration of Imo River which is also a potential source of environmental contaminants. About S water samples, each from the imo River were collected from the River but from different locations at random. The elements determined were: sodium (Na), Lead (Pb), Arsenic (As), Coper (Cii), Chromium (Cr), Cadmium (Cd), Nickel (Ni), Zinc (Zn), Iron (Fe) and Manganese (Mn).Cadmium, Nickel, Zinc, Iron, Sodium, Lead and Copper were found to be within the permissible limit for potable water (WHO) while Arsenic and Chromium were found to be high. The permissible limits for Arsenic and Chromium for WHO is 0.00 1mg/I and 0.005mg! while that of FAO are 0.10mg/I and 0.10mg/I for Arsenic and Chromium respectively. The result in the examined water for Arsenic and Chromium is 0.0081mg/I and 0.0062mg/I. The results were compared with WHO and FAO standard recommendation values for water quality for irrigation and potable water. This study provides a general indication of where water quality constituents' concentrations met or exceeded water quality standard of WHO and FAO data presented in the report will be useful from public health point of view. The result showed that Arsenic (As) and Chromium (Cr) are not within the permissible limit for WHO but within the FAO water standard for irrigation purposes. Imo River is fit for irrigation purposes since all the elements traced were within the recommended values for irrigation.