A Comparative Quality Assessment of Water Quality Index using Physicochemical Parameters of Selected Rivers in Rivers State, Nigeria

Water is essential for life and people need water to survive, because it plays an important role in every aspect of life, especially for physiological activities such as the balance of body fluids. This study was aimed at assessing the quality of water collected from selected rivers using weighted arithmetic water quality index (WAWQI), to check for portability and purity of water. The water samples were collected from 5 rivers: Omuchi Aluu river, Choba river, Chokocho river, Oyigbo river, and Agbonchia river in the respective communities, in Rivers State, Nigeria. These rivers are located at coordinates between N 4.81971 / E 7.14131 and N 4.99586 / E 7.06179, and locals use water from these rivers for activities such as washing, bathing, fishing, and dredging. Water samples were collected every month from various sampling stations (of each community for 6 months) between March, 2021 and September, 2021 and, transported to the laboratory, to analyze ex-situ physicochemical parameters, while in-situ parameters were measured during sampling. Nine parameters were evaluated which included pH, temperature, electrical conductivity (EC), total dissolved solids (TDS), salinity, turbidity, dissolved oxygen (DO), total suspended solids (TSS), and biochemical oxygen demand (BOD5). The results showed that the WAWQI of water from stations 1, 2, 3, 4, and 5 were 199.4, 358.8, 121.6, 2838.6, and 555.0 respectively; and categorized as unfit for consumption because these values exceeded the acceptable standard limit set by WHO. It was concluded that water from these rivers is unsuitable for drinking and there will be advocacy visits to the community to sensitize community locals on good water sanitary and hygiene (WASH) practices, for a healthy and sustainable environment.