Impact of cement effluent on water quality of rivers: A case study of Onyi river at Obajana, Nigeria

Figures & data

Figure 1. Selected area of Onyi River at Obajana showing sampling points.

Table 1. Physicochemical characteristics of cement effluent discharged to the Onyi river and effluent quality standards

Parameter	Overall average	Range	National Environment Standards and Regulations Enforcement Agency (2011)	World Bank (1995)	Qualities of cements effluents at other locations
					Bhilai, India^a	Jamul, India^a	Sistan, Iran^b	Chttak, Bangladesh^c
pH	9.1 ± 0.9	7.5–10.5	6.5–8.5	6–9	6.7	6.9	8.3	6.65
Temperature (°C)	28 ± 2.7	24–34	–	–	–	–	–	29.2
Total alkalinity (mg/L)	87 ± 33	35–150	–	–	–	–	–	625
Total hardness (mg/L)	71 ± 32	34–153	–	–	300	520	–	4,564
Calcium (mg/L)	27 ± 13	12.8–58	180	–	–	–	–	970
Magnesium (mg/L)	10.0 ± 4.6	5.09–22.8	40	–	–	–	–	515
TS (mg/L)	449 ± 318	160–1,840	–	–	–	–	–	34,230
TSS (mg/L)	240 ± 207	20–1,590	0.75	–	–	–	–	1,540
TDS (mg/L)	223 ± 123	40–620	–	–	3,289	3,166	5.4	32,890
Turbidity (FTU)	95 ± 166	7.5–804	–	–	–	–	–	–
Cl^− (mg/L)	18.0 ± 7.9	4.0–37.0	350	–	–	–	–	3,485
${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$ (mg/L)	3.8 ± 1.9	1.35–10.1	500	–	–	–	–	2,455
${\text{PO}}_4^{3-}$ (mg/L)	29 ± 18	10.5–66.6	3.5	–	–	–	–	83
${\text{NO}}_3^{-}$ (mg/L)	141 ± 106	64–395	40	–	–	–	–	1.45
DO (mg/L)	7.1 ± 1.2	3.9–9.7	4.0	–	6.6	6.5	10.6	1.5
COD (mg/L)	63 ± 43	42–170	30	250	–	–	60	39,060
BOD (mg/L)	5.3 ± 3.7	3.1–12.2	6.0	50	–	–	30.5	–
Co (mg/L)	0.01 ± 0.01	<0.001–0.021	–	–	–	–	–	–
Cd (mg/L)	0.002 ± 0.002	<0.001–0.006	0.01	0.10	–	–	–	–
Cr (mg/L)	0.1 ± 0.1	<0.001–0.431	0.5	0.10	–	–	–	–
Cu (mg/L)	0.01 ± 0.01	<0.001–0.044	0.01	0.50	–	–	–	–
Ni (mg/L)	0.01 ± 0.01	<0.001–0.041	0.1	0.50	–	–	–	–
Pb (mg/L)	0.03 ± 0.03	0.001–0.081	0.1	0.10	–	–	–	–
Zn (mg/L)	0.06 ± 0.03	0.007–0.153	0.2	0.50	–	–	–	–

^a Yadav, Rajhans, Ramteke, Sahu, Patel, and Blazhev (2016).

^b Khammar and Darvishi (2016).

^c Alam et al. (2007).

Table 2. Average levels of water quality parameters at discharge point, upstream and downstream of Onyi river during rainy and dry season

Parameter	Upstream		Sig. (α0.05)	Discharge point		Sig. (α0.05)	Downstream		Sig. (α0.05)
	Wet season	Dry season	Yes/No?	Wet season	Dry season	Yes/No?	Wet season	Dry season	Yes/No?
pH	7.69 ± 0.04^a	7.70 ± 0.15^a	No	8.32 ± 0.71^c	9.05 ± 0.62^b	Yes	7.74 ± 0.01^a	7.77 ± 0.23^a	No
Temperature (°C)	27.5 ± 0.2^a	29.0 ± 0.1^b	Yes	26.6 ± 2.3^c	28.7 ± 3.0^c	Yes	26.5 ± 0.3^c	27.7 ± 0.2^a	Yes
Alkalinity (mg/L)	51 ± 1.8^c	71 ± 4.0^a	Yes	67 ± 35^e	97 ± 47^a	Yes	58 ± 2.5^c	81 ± 8.4^a	Yes
Total hardness (mg/L)	37 ± 1.3^d	46 ± 2.1^b	Yes	57 ± 19^c	64 ± 36^b	Yes	46 ± 2.2^b	63 ± 3.7^a	Yes
Calcium (mg/L)	14.8 ± 0.3^d	17.9 ± 0.7^c	Yes	21.9 ± 8.0^a	24.8 ± 14.7^b	Yes	18.2 ± 1.5^c	22.2 ± 0.63^a	Yes
Magnesium (mg/L)	5.31 ± 0.35^d	6.85 ± 0.31^b	Yes	8.57 ± 3.0^c	9.38 ± 5.17^a	Yes	6.54 ± 0.22^b	9.41 ± 0.77^a	Yes
Total solids (mg/L)	196 ± 18^a	223 ± 27^ab	Yes	496 ± 208^d	493 ± 123^d	No	284 ± 63^c	326 ± 88^bc	Yes
TSS (mg/L)	112 ± 15^ab	120 ± 21^a	Yes	223 ± 74^c	208 ± 41^c	Yes	123 ± 37^a	145 ± 39^ab	Yes
TDS (mg/L)	84 ± 26^a	103 ± 12^a	Yes	265 ± 177^c	285 ± 124^c	Yes	161 ± 45^b	180 ± 50.4^b	Yes
Turbidity (NTU)	25.3 ± 4.1^a	16.9 ± 1.7^b	Yes	46.3 ± 25^c	45.2 ± 1.5^c	Yes	25.4 ± 4.2^a	24.4 ± 4.1^b	No
Cl^− (mg/L)	7.2 ± 0.7^c	12.4 ± 0.8^a	Yes	12.6 ± 5.9^d	16.1 ± 4.64^b	Yes	7.8 ± 1.0^c	12.5 ± 0.6^a	Yes
${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$ (mg/L)	0.82 ± 0.04^a	0.95 ± 0.10^b	Yes	2.98 ± 1.67^e	2.79 ± 0.75^d	Yes	1.59 ± 0.16^d	2.05 ± 0.25^c	Yes
${\text{PO}}_4^{3-}$ (mg/L)	22 ± 0.2^a	29 ± 1.0^ab	Yes	28 ± 18^d	39 ± 21^bc	Yes	22 ± 2.7^c	32 ± 3.3^ab	Yes
${\text{NO}}_3^{-}$ (mg/L)	114 ± 46^a	140 ± 25^ab	Yes	155 ± 95^c	194 ± 148^bc	Yes	109 ± 18^bc	156 ± 37a	Yes
DO (mg/L)	8.1 ± 0.5^c	9.1 ± 1.5^bc	No	6.8 ± 0.4^ab	7.4 ± 1.4^a	Yes	8.1 ± 0.4^bc	8.1 ± 1.1^bc	No
COD (mg/L)	30 ± 3.4^ab	39 ± 3.2^a	No	71 ± 42^c	58 ± 16^c	Yes	43 ± 14^ab	45 ± 12^b	No
BOD (mg/L)	2.9 ± 0.5^d	4.4 ± 1.5^a	Yes	6.4 ± 5.0^c	11 ± 7.5^b	Yes	4.8 ± 1.4^a	7.6 ± 1.9^c	Yes
Co (mg/L)	0.0017 ± 0.0002^b	0.0028 ± 0.0001^a	Yes	0.003 ± 0.001^c	0.005 ± 0.004^a	Yes	0.002 ± 0.001^bc	0.0031 ± 0.0003^a	Yes
Cd (mg/L)	0.01 ± 0.01^b	0.0008 ± 0.0003^a	Yes	0.002 ± 0.001^a	0.004 ± 0.002^a	Yes	0.003 ± 0.001^a	0.0033 ± 0.0002-	Yes
Cr (mg/L)	0.039 ± 0.002^ab	0.015 ± 0.002^a	Yes	0.02 ± 0.01^ab	0.08 ± 0.06^c	Yes	0.06 ± 0.02^a	0.012 ± 0.001^bc	Yes
Cu (mg/L)	<0.0001	0.003 ± 0.001^a	Yes	0.0003 ± 0.0008^c	0.01 ± 0.01^a	Yes	0.0001 ± 0.0002^c	0.005 ± 0.001^a	Yes
Ni (mg/L)	0.0045 ± 0.0003^a	0.0067 ± 0.0003^ad	Yes	0.009 ± 0.004^b	0.008 ± 0.003^d	Yes	0.005 ± 0.001^a	0.0082 ± 0.0004^c	Yes
Pb (mg/L)	0.008 ± 0.002^c	0.03 ± 0.01^a	Yes	0.02 ± 0.01^d	0.03 ± 0.06^a	Yes	0.008 ± 0.001^b	0.023 ± 0.002^a	Yes
Zn (mg/L)	0.06 ± 0.01^ab	0.034 ± 0.003^a	Yes	0.05 ± 0.05^b	0.07 ± 0.02^a	Yes	0.05 ± 0.01^a	0.04 ± 0.01^ab	Yes

Notes: Within a row, mean values with different superscript (a–d) differ significantly.

Figure 2. Monthly variations in pH, turbidity, calcium, magnesium and TS levels.

Figure 3. Monthly variations in alkalinity, TSS, DO, BOD and COD levels.

Table 3. Comparison of average water quality of Onyi river with some water quality standards

Parameters	Upstream	Downstream	WHO^g	USEPA^h	CQC^i	Surface water quality by Prati et al. (1971)
						Acceptable	Slightly polluted	Polluted
pH	7.7 ± 0.1	7.8 ± 0.1	6.5–8.0	6.5–8.0	6.5–9.0	6.0–8.4	5.0–9.0	3.9–10.1
Temperature (°C)	28.3 ± 0.1	27.1 ± 0.2	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total alkalinity (mg/L)	61.1 ± 2.5	69.5 ± 3.7	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total hardness (mg/L)	41.6 ± 1.5	54.4 ± 2.4	500	–	–	–	–	–
Calcium (mg/L)	16.3 ± 0.3	20.3 ± 0.8	–	–	–	–	–	–
Magnesium (mg/L)	6.08 ± 0.27	7.97 ± 0.38	–	–	–	–	–	–
Total solids (mg/L)	209 ± 14	305 ± 65	–	–	–	–	–	–
TSS (mg/L)	116 ± 15	134 ± 34	–	–	–	40	100	278
TDS (mg/L)	93.1 ± 6.25	170 ± 36	<600	500	500	–	–	–
Turbidity (FTU)	21.1 ± 1.33	24.9 ± 3.68	5	–	–	–	–	–
Cl^− (mg/L)	9.77 ± 0.23	10.1 ± 0.60	250	250	250	–	–	–
${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$ (mg/L)	0.88 ± 0.06	1.82 ± 0.16	500	–	500	–	–	–
${\text{PO}}_4^{3-}$ (mg/L)	25.5 ± 0.45	27.4 ± 2.41	–	–	–	–	–	–
${\text{NO}}_3^{-}$ (mg/L)	127 ± 13	132 ± 24	50.0	10.0	–	12	36	108
DO (mg/L)	8.63 ± 0.54	8.10 ± 0.63	–	–	5.5–9.5	75–125	50–150	20–200
COD (mg/L)	34.0 ± 1.4	44 ± 11	–	–	–	20	6.0	12.0
BOD (mg/L)	3.66 ± 0.75	6.20 ± 1.39	–	–	–	3.0	6.0	12.0
Co (mg/L)	0.002 ± 0.001	0.003 ± 0.001	–	–	0.05	–	–	–
Cd (mg/L)	0.004 ± 0.002	0.002 ± 0.001	0.003	0.002	–	–	–	–
Cr (mg/L)	0.027 ± 0.001	0.034 ± 0.011	0.05	0.10	0.05	–	–	–
Cu (mg/L)	0.002 ± 0.001	0.003 ± 0.001	2.0	0.009	0.024	–	–	–
Ni (mg/L)	0.006 ± 0.002	0.007 ± 0.001	0.07	0.05	0.025	–	–	–
Pb (mg/L)	0.018 ± 0.002	0.016 ± 0.001	0.01	0.003	0.017	–	–	–
Zn (mg/L)	0.040 ± 0.004	0.045 ± 0.003	0.01	0.12	0.03	–	–	–

Note: (–) = not available.

^g World Health Organisation (2006).

^h USEPA (1999).

ⁱ Canadian Council of Ministers of the Environment (1999).

Table 4. Classification of surface water using water quality and metal pollution indeces

Weight arithmetic water quality index		Metal pollution index
WQI value	Rating of water quality	PI value	Class
0–25	Excellent	<1	No effect
26–50	Good	1–2	Slightly affected
51−75	Poor	2–3	Moderately affected
76–100	Very poor	3−5	Strongly affected
Above 100	Unsuitable for drinking purpose	>5	Seriously affected

Source: Goher et al. (2014).

Table 5. Measured quality rating (Q_i), weight unit (W_i) of each parameter and metal index variables

Parameters	Si	Qi	Wi	(Ci/Si)max	(Ci/Si)min
pH	8	80	0.00026	–	–
Temperature	NA	–	–	–	–
Total alkalinity	NA	–	–	–	–
Total hardness	500	10.98	4.09 × 10^−6	–	–
Calcium	NA	–	–	–	–
Magnesium	NA	–	–	–	–
Total solids	NA	–	–	–	–
TSS	NA	–	–	–	–
TDS	600	28.33	3.41 × 10^−6	–	–
Turbidity	5	498	4.09 × 10^−4	–	–
Cl^−	250	4.04	8.19 × 10^−6	–	–
${\text{SO}}_4^{2-}$	500	0.364	4.09 × 10^−6	–	–
${\text{PO}}_4^{3-}$	NA	–	–	–	–
${\text{NO}}_3^{-}$	50	264	4.09 × 10^−5	–	–
DO	5.5	71.43	3.72 × 10^−3	–	–
COD	NA	–	–	–	–
BOD	NA	–	–	–	–
Co	NA	–	–	–	–
Cd	0.003	66.67	0.6821	1	0.33
Cr	0.05	68	0.0409	0.9	0.46
Cu	2	0.15	0.00102	0.002	0.001
Ni	0.07	10	0.02924	0.114	0.086
Pb	0.01	100	0.20464	1.7	1.5
Zn	0.05	90	0.04093	4.8	4.2

Note: NA = Not available (WHO standard is unavailable).

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