Assessment of physicochemical and elemental quality of water from River Lavun, Bida, Niger State, Nigeria

Bida axis of Niger State, Nigeria depends on River Lavun for its domestic and commercial activities especially for fishing, drinking, washing, transportation, irrigation and waste disposal, with potential impact on physicochemical and elemental qualities of the river water. The physicochemical parameters of the river water, namely: temperature, pH, alkalinity, conductivity, phosphate, nitrate, biochemical oxygen demand (BOD) and chemical oxygen demand (COD) evaluated were found to be within acceptable limit set by World Health Organization (WHO) and/or Nigeria Industrial Standard (NIS) while dissolved oxygen (DO) was above the limit. Elemental composition of the river water was also studied using atomic absorption spectrophotometer (AAS). Results of the elemental analysis showed that silver, cobalt, and lead were not detected, while the levels of iron, manganese, nickel, and cadmium, were above acceptable limit of drinking water set by WHO and/or NIS. Keywords: Physicochemical; Elemental, Water quality, River Lavun