A study of the water quality of the osun river: metal monitoring and geochemistry

Abstract (Received October 27, 1999; revised March 24, 2000) The concentrations and distributions of Cd, Cu, Ni, Pb, Cr and Zn in Osun river, selected rivers in the region and groundwaters have been studied, in order to establish the current levels of pollution. The metal concentration (mean±RSD in g dm-3) in the Osun river for the sampling periods of May, June and August, respectively, were: Cd, 1.45±0.65, 1.40±0.37, 1.25±0.52; Ni,21.8±6.22, 10.6±3.68, 15.3±6.01; Pb, 7.16±3.30, 8.45±3.24, 4.86±1.98; Cu, 16.7±9.32, 11.9±4.81, 8.27±3.80; Cr, 250±118, 400±160, 150±72.9; Zn, 398±109, 289±113, 259±94.4. The correlation coefficient between metal pairs of river water and groundwater samples are calculated and possible sources of the polluting substances are discussed. Bull. Chem. Soc. Ethiop. 2000 , 14(1), 1-8 Bulletin of the Chemical Society of Ethiopia. ISSN: 1011-3924